- Minerals-rich African countries have the potential to capitalise on the soaring global demand for metals components of the Electric vehicles.
- According to initial estimates, demand for metals such as nickel, aluminium and iron that are critical components in EVs will leap by 14 times by 2030.
Minerals-rich African countries have the potential to capitalise on the soaring global demand for metals components of Electric vehicles. International Automobile companies are racing ahead with Electric Vehicle (EV) production plans. Toyota is the latest to announce major investments into electric cars and components.
According to initial estimates, demand for metals such as nickel, aluminium and iron that are critical components in EVs will leap by 14 times by 2030, offering opportunities for minerals-rich African states to cash in from the green car revolution. With the rise in demand for electric vehicles over the next ten years, vehicle battery output is expected to go up by tens of millions. The latest announcement of Toyota this week of a 13.6 billion US investment into electric cars and hybrids target about 9 billion US dollars to be spent on battery production alone.
The demand has triggered a rush of global mining and investment companies to Africa looking for investment avenues in raw materials primarily used in building electric car batteries. EV manufacturers are already exploring investment opportunities in major mining countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
