According to [1], there are 1.63 busses per 1000 citizens in the EU, leading to 828,000 busses for EU’s 508 million citizens. This estimate is not far from DecarbEurope’s number [2].
According to [3], copper use in electric busses is over 350 kg/unit. We assume that 2 thirds of the copper content is due to electrification, i.e. 230 kg.
Considering CAPEX parity for electric buses well before 2050 [4], we can expect the fleet to fully electrify, leading to a copper demand of 190,000 tonnes.
Bus charging stations need 224 – 369 kg per unit, leading to another demand of 185,000 – 305,000 tonnes (average 245,000 tonnes).
Hence, the total copper demand to electrify the bus fleet is 435,000 tonnes.
- Vehicles in the EU (EEA)
- 893,000 busses in circulation (DecarbEurope)
- Electric vehicles & copper demand (Copper Alliance)
- Analysis of the potential for electric buses (Copper Alliance / VUB Mobi)
- EN-V mobility concept (General Motors)
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