Metals & Electrification

Most of the world’s energy comes from fuels, and in many cases those fuels are burned directly because combustion provides something electricity cannot yet supply as effectively: extremely high temperatures delivered at the point of use, often continuously, at massive scale, and sometimes with chemical effects the process depends on. Cars and trucks burn gasoline or diesel inside engines because liquid fuels hold a large amount of energy in a compact form and can release it instantly. Jet fuel is burned in turbines for the same reason—its energy density makes long-distance flight possible. Cement production burns coal or natural gas to keep thousands of tons of material at roughly 1,400–1,500°C along the entire interior of a rotating kiln; while electricity can reach these temperatures, doing so at that scale and cost is not yet practical. Steelmaking burns coal (as coke) not just for heat but because the carbon released during combustion chemically removes oxygen from iron ore, creating liquid iron. In all these cases, fuels are used directly because their combustion provides either the extreme heat, the specific chemical environment, or the dense portable energy that the process fundamentally requires.

Electricity plays a different role in the energy system. It is not a fuel; it is an energy carrier that must first be generated—often by burning fuels like natural gas or coal, or by nuclear, wind, or solar—before it can power anything. Once generated, electricity is used for buildings, lighting, appliances, heating and cooling systems, machinery, data centers, and digital infrastructure. As more technologies adopt electricity instead of burning fuels directly—electric vehicles replacing gasoline engines, heat pumps replacing gas furnaces—the share of total energy consumed in the form of electricity increases. What is growing is electricity’s share of final energy consumption, not necessarily its share of total energy production, since much of the world’s electricity is itself still produced by burning fuels.

When a sector switches from direct fuel combustion to electricity, the change replaces a self-contained, fuel-burning device with a machine that must be connected to a large, physical network. Fuels can be stored in tanks and burned exactly where energy is needed. Electricity must be generated elsewhere, sent through high-voltage transmission lines, stepped down in substations, distributed through local networks, and converted by inverters, transformers, and power electronics before it can drive motors or equipment. Every part of this system is built from metals. Electrification expands the physical infrastructure that electricity must flow through, and that infrastructure is fundamentally metal-intensive.

Copper is central because it is the best widely available conductor of electricity and handles heat effectively. It appears in generators, substations, transformers, distribution equipment, building wiring, electric motors, inverters, and the dense electrical systems inside EVs and data centers. An electric vehicle uses roughly 80 kilograms of copper compared to 23 kilograms in a conventional car—nearly four times as much—because its motor, battery connections, power electronics, and charging systems all depend on it. As more devices and systems rely on electricity, copper demand rises proportionally.

Battery materials—lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite—make it possible to store electricity and use it in mobile applications. Lithium enables charge movement. Nickel and cobalt determine energy density, shaping EV range and grid storage compactness. Graphite forms the anode structure that absorbs and releases lithium ions during cycling. A single EV battery contains approximately 8–10 kilograms of lithium, 40 kilograms of nickel, and 50 kilograms of graphite. Without these materials, electricity could only be used the moment it is generated.

Rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium enable the powerful permanent magnets inside most EV motors and wind turbine generators. These magnets produce strong, stable magnetic fields without continuous electrical input, allowing motors and generators to be compact, efficient, and powerful. Without them, electric motors would be larger and less efficient, while wind turbines would generate less power per installed unit.

Steel and aluminum form the structural backbone. Steel builds transmission towers, transformer housings, wind turbine structures, and data center frameworks. Aluminum, lighter and still conductive, is used in overhead lines where long spans require reduced weight—it now accounts for the majority of new distribution conductor installations globally. Both metals appear in EV bodies, battery enclosures, and solar panel frames.

Uranium and vanadium maintain grid reliability under increased load. Uranium fuels reactors that provide steady baseload power, balancing wind and solar variability. Vanadium enables flow batteries that store energy for 6–12 hours and cycle thousands of times with minimal degradation, addressing the duration gap that lithium-ion cannot yet fill economically at grid scale.

Electrifying the economy does not make the system lighter—it makes it more material-intensive. Every step in the chain that produces, moves, and uses electricity requires metals that can conduct current, create magnetic fields, store charge, and support heavy equipment. As electricity takes on a larger share of energy use, demand for those materials rises with it.