The future of renewable energy is clear.

The future of renewable energy relies on essential resources.

If the world is to stay within a 1.5ºC budget, it will need to transition to renewable energy. 

This transition will rely on essential resources like the copper, nickel and iron ore produced by BHP.

The growing demand for these resources is happening now.

Decarbonisation technologies such as electric vehicles, offshore wind, and solar farms will require copper production to substantially increase over the coming years.

Production of nickel, a key ingredient in the battery storage required for grid stability, will also have to multiply. 

Iron ore and metallurgical coal will be vital in producing the additional steel needed for large scale construction of renewables such as wind turbines and carbon capture infrastructure. 

The transition to renewable energy is happening now. 

During the 2020 calendar year, investments in the energy transition sector reached US$501.3 billion.¹

European countries invested US$166 billion, China US$135 billion and the United States US$85 billion.² 

Renewable energy capacity attracted US$303.5 billion of investment while electric vehicle sales surpassed the 3 million mark for the first time.³

As renewables surpass the 30% global penetration mark, multiple technology options are required to provide grid flexibility of the electricity network including stationary energy storage like lithium-ion batteries, large scale grid interconnections and demand response technologies for seasonal peaks. 

All of which will require even more copper, nickel and iron ore.

BHP will continue to focus on the sustainable and responsible production of the resources that are essential to help build a better world. 

The future of renewables is clear. It’s happening now.

¹ According to a recent BloombergNEF report: https://about.bnef.com/blog/energy-transition-investment-hit-500-billion-in-2020-for-first-time/ 

² As above

³ BloombergNEF Energy Transition Investment report and 1Q 2021 Electrified Transport Market Outlook