Sechin noted the key role of copper for a new type of energy system.

Copper and rare earth elements play a critical role in the development of a new type of energy system. This was stated by Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for the development Strategy of the fuel and energy complex and environmental Safety, head of Rosneft, at the Energy Panel of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

According to Sechin, the demand for metals in power generation, electric transport and power grids will more than double by 2050, and consumption growth may amount to almost 200 million tons. Resources are limited.

He noted that the key metal for the "new" economy is copper. According to his estimates, the use of copper in electric grids by 2040 may increase by 65% and exceed 7 million tons, which corresponds to a quarter of the current global consumption of this metal.

"According to forecasts, in the next 20 years it will be necessary to extract a volume of copper comparable to the production over the previous 10,000 years," Sechin said. According to him, experts predict a copper deficit of about 40% by 2050.

Sechin also stressed the importance of rare earths for the defense industry. As an example, he cited the American F-35 fighter jet, which requires more than 400 kg of such elements, as well as the Virginia nuclear submarine, which requires more than 4 tons of rare earth metals.