As companies and countries transition to clean energy, the market for minerals vital to the functioning of electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels has doubled over the past five years, says a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

More than 10 million electric cars were sold in 2022, 60% more than the year before. Twice as much energy storage capacity was added last year than in 2021. This has led to demand for lithium tripling, a 70% jump in demand for cobalt, and a 40% rise in nickel demand from 2017 to 2022, the Paris-based intergovernmental organization found.

Growing rapidly in response to demand from the energy sector, the market for minerals critical to cleaner energy reached $320 billion last year, making the sector increasingly important for the global mining industry.

The price of minerals increased and was often volatile in 2021 and early 2022. While prices began to moderate in the second half of 2022 and into 2023, they remain well above historical averages.

Driven by rising demand, investment in critical mineral development rose 30% last year, up from a 20% increase in 2021. Lithium led the minerals with a jump of 50%, followed by copper and nickel. Companies based in China nearly doubled their investments in 2022.

"Even so, major challenges remain," says IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "Much more needs to be done to ensure supply chains for critical minerals are secure and sustainable."

While the projects planned are sufficient to meet global climate pledges, the world has little room for project delays and technology-specific shortfalls, according to the report's authors. And more projects would be needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Another area of concern is the concentration of supply. Half of the planned lithium chemical plants are in China, and nearly 90% of planned nickel refining facilities are in Indonesia.