The Future Value of Disruptive Materials


This post is by Aran Ali from Visual Capitalist


The following content is sponsored by Global X ETFs

The Briefing

  • By 2030, the collective market for disruptive materials is expected to reach over $800 billion
  • Copper is the largest market while lithium is the fastest growing

The Future Value of Disruptive Materials

A select number of materials have a critical role to play in the expansion of next generation technologies. This could lead to a surge in demand and a potential soaring of market values for each material as a result.

This graphic from Global X ETFs takes a closer look at the forecasted market value for 12 disruptive materials, which are seeing increasingly large climate investment.

Soaring Market Values

The materials highlighted are each a billion dollar market in their own right. But which has the largest projected future market value?

Copper is one of the largest and most mature markets from this group. And as a result sees a lower projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

However, when it comes to the fastest growing market, lithium reigns supreme with a CAGR of over 23% between the forecast period of 2021 and 2028. Lithium is a vital ingredient for lithium-ion batteries, used in EVs and elsewhere.

Disruptive MaterialProjected Market Value ($B)CAGR (over forecast period)
Copper$394.0B by 20294.2% (2021-2029P)
Lithium$191.0B by 202823.3% (2021-2028P)
Nickel$59.0B by 20287.3% (2021-2028P)
Zinc$49.6B by 20274.0% (2021-2027P)
Manganese$42.0B by 20277.4% (2019-2027P)
Cobalt$17.3B by 202912.5% (2021-2029P)
Rare Earth Metals$15.4B by 2030 (Read more...)