Rising demand for clean energy technologies is shaping the future for investments in critical minerals, whose demand will triple by 2040.

According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global Critical Minerals Outlook report, in geopolitical competition led critical minerals to become not only an economic but also a strategic priority to those seeking to strengthen their position in green energy.

Among the 4,000 minerals found across the globe, some are vital for the clean energy sector, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper, and rare earths.

The IEA report showed that the demand for critical minerals, including rare earth elements (REEs), will reach around 35 million tons annually by 2040.

Meanwhile, investments in critical minerals are expected to rise from $45 billion in 2023 to $800 billion by 2040.

Copper mining is among the most prominent critical minerals in investments, as its production is expected to generate $490 billion in investments by 2040, followed by nickel with $160 billion and lithium with $80 billion.

The IEA report showed that some 28.1 million tons of raw materials were excavated worldwide in 2023 and 32.6 million tons of ores were processed. The world’s mineral processing capacity is expected to rise 32 percent to 43.7 million tons by 2040.

The largest capacity increase is expected in graphite with 267.2 percent to 7.5 million tons, followed by lithium with 110 percent to 370,000 tons and REEs with 44.7 percent to 110,000 tons by 2040.

Clean energy is expected to make up 55.2 percent of the global demand for lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and copper mines and 41 percent for REEs, according to the IEA report. 

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