Copper shortage could hit chip production by 2035, PwC says

Amsterdam — About 32% of global semiconductor production could face climate change related copper supply disruptions by 2035, quadrupling from current levels, advisory firm PwC said in a report for business leaders on Tuesday.

Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, already grapples with water shortages that are slowing down production. By 2035, most of the 17 countries supplying the chip industry will be at risk of drought, PwC said.

The most recent global chip shortage, fuelled by a pandemic-driven demand spike that coincided with factory shutdowns, crippled the automotive industry and halted production lines across other chip-dependent sectors.

“It cost the US economy a full percentage point in GDP growth and Germany 2.4%,” PwC project lead Glenn Burm said in the report, citing the US department of commerce.

Copper miners from China, Australia, Peru, Brazil, the US, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Zambia and Mongolia will also be affected, sparing none of the world’s chipmaking regions from risk, PwC said.

Copper is used to make the billions of tiny wires inside every chip’s circuit. Even if alternatives are being researched, there is no match for its price and performance.

The risk will only increase over time if innovation on materials does not adapt to climate change, and a more secure water supply is not developed in the affected countries, PwC said.

“About half of every country’s copper supply is at risk by 2050 — no matter how fast the world reduces carbon emissions,” the report says.

Chile and Peru have taken steps to secure their water supply by increasing mining efficiency and building desalination plants. This is exemplary, PwC says, but may not be a solution for countries with no access to large bodies of seawater.

PwC estimates that 25% of Chile’s copper production is at risk of disruptions now, rising to 75% within a decade and to 90%-100% by 2050.

Reuters