Future raw materials: time to invest?

As economies transition toward electrification and more resilient energy systems, the materials underpinning this shift – including copper, lithium and rare earth elements – are moving to the centre of the investment opportunity set.

For investors, the opportunity is clear, but gaining efficient exposure remains the key challenge. Traditional equity or commodity allocations often provide only partial or indirect access to the theme.

Our Future Raw Materials strategy is designed to address this gap, providing targeted exposure to the materials underpinning tomorrow’s economies. Let’s take a closer look.

From vulnerability to investment: the implications for the energy system

Energy security has moved from a political objective to an economic imperative. Recent geopolitical tensions have underscored how fragile and concentrated global energy systems remain, with many economies still reliant on imported fuels and tightly controlled supply routes.

Disrupted oil and gas flows are accelerating investment in renewables, nuclear power, grids and storage – all highly capital- and metal-intensive, requiring significant infrastructure build-out.

The response is already underway, with governments and corporates accelerating investment in alternative energy, upgrading infrastructure and rethinking supply chains to improve resilience.

But this transition has a less obvious – and more powerful – implication for investors. Electrification, renewables, battery storage and digital infrastructure all require far more resources than the systems they replace. Copper is needed across generation and transmission. Lithium and nickel underpin batteries. Rare earths enable electric vehicle (EVs), wind turbines and semiconductors, while nuclear depends on uranium. These are not niche inputs, but the building blocks of the next generation energy system.

Renewables and nuclear

Renewables are becoming central to the energy mix, with wind and solar overtaking fossil fuels as a share of electricity generation – a trend expected to accelerate.

At the same time, nuclear power is re-emerging as a key source of reliable, low carbon baseload. This has important implications for uranium demand as governments seek stable, long-term power supply.

Electricity grids and storage

Electrification at scale requires modernised grids, power management and storage. As the chart below shows, the EU is targeting roughly 29% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) in energy storage installations to 2030, highlighting the scale of infrastructure investment required. Batteries are increasingly key to power system resilience and extending electrification into transport and industry.

Electric vehicles 

Electrification is also accelerating in transport. China’s exports of EVs, lithium‑ion batteries and solar products reached a record US$21.9 billion in early 2026, signalling strong global demand [1].

EV adoption reduces reliance on petrol and diesel, reinforced by improving economics: for the first time, new electric cars are now cheaper on average than petrol models in the UK, removing a key barrier to adoption.

Multiple demand drivers

Demand is also driven by:

Together, these dynamics point to a sustained increase in demand for critical minerals.

A structurally constrained supply backdrop

Demand for critical minerals is accelerating, but supply is struggling to keep pace due to years of underinvestment, increasing permitting complexity and declining ore grades.

At the same time, geopolitical considerations are reshaping access to resources, with countries seeking to secure domestic supply chains. This has the potential to further tighten global markets.

The result is a structurally constrained supply backdrop, where new production is costly and slow to develop. Sustained demand growth with limited supply responsiveness is likely to translate into higher prices over the long term, supporting both commodity prices and the companies extracting them.

Why a targeted approach matters

Our Future Raw Materials strategy seeks to capture this opportunity across a range of minerals, including copper (critical for EVs, power grids and renewables), nickel and lithium (essential for batteries and EVs), rare earth elements (vital for semiconductors and permanent magnets used in EVs and wind turbines) and uranium (key for nuclear energy).

Final thoughts…

So why invest in future raw materials now? Because the case for critical raw materials is moving from long-term theory to near-term investment reality.

Geopolitical tensions have exposed the vulnerability of global energy systems, accelerating the shift toward energy security, electrification and more resilient supply chains. This is already driving investment across infrastructure, power, transport and technology – all heavily dependent on critical raw materials.

At the same time, supply remains structurally constrained after years of underinvestment and long project lead times. This creates a supportive backdrop for commodity prices and for the companies positioned to supply these materials.

[1] Jefferies, CEIC Data and the General Administration of Customs. April 2026