Thank you for attending. We will be back later this year with the LME Forum on October 15 in London
Optimists had hoped that 2025 could be the year where positive economic momentum combined with loosening monetary policy to supercharge demand for metals. Unfortunately, things are rarely that simple.
The outlook for metals was already complicated by deep concerns over China’s economic prospects. More worrying for metals investors was the broader deflationary effect of China’s processing capacity overhang in the EV, battery and renewables value chains. Trump 2.0 and his predilection for tariff diplomacy is now threatening to completely upend markets, stretching supply chains that were already under strain. Worse still perhaps, questions over delivery and longevity of US policy - and retaliatory measures - is transforming the risk around financial decisions.
To make sense of these seismic shifts, and their impact on the key commodities that underpin the energy transition, the Wood Mackenzie Future Facing Commodities Forum took place on 30 April 2025.
Topics that were discussed on 30 April:
- Metals markets: What has changed?
- Tariffs, trade and the energy transition
- Copper: Turning potential into growth
- Rare Earths: Unlocking their power
- Aluminium: Synchronising supply growth and emissions reductions
- Crunch time for the battery value chain
- Cathode & Anode: Waiting for recycling to make its mark
- Nickel: Looking for a route back to safety
- Lithium: How will the market rebalance?
2025 speakers included:
Robin Griffin
Vice President, Metals and Mining Research
Robin Griffin
Vice President, Metals and Mining Research
An integral part of the research team since 2007, Robin leads our analysis across metals and mining markets.
Latest articles by Robin
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Opinion
Metals and mining: navigating tariff headwinds in 2025
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Opinion
eBook | The new gold rush: how to invest in metals and mining in 2025
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Opinion
eBook | The new gold rush: how to invest in metals and mining in 2025
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Opinion
Metals and mining tariff scenarios: potential impacts of new US tariffs on metals markets
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Opinion
Where next for metals markets in 2025?
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Opinion
eBook | Understanding the metals and mining landscape in 2025
Julian Kettle
Senior Vice President, Vice Chair Metals and Mining
Julian Kettle
Senior Vice President, Vice Chair Metals and Mining
Latest articles by Julian
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Opinion
Metals investment: the darkest hour is just before the dawn
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Opinion
Ebook | How can the Super Region enable the energy transition?
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The Edge
Can battery innovation accelerate the energy transition?
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Featured
Have miners missed the boat to invest and get ahead of the energy transition?
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Featured
Why the energy transition will be powered by metals
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Featured
Could Big Energy and miners join forces to deliver a faster transition?
Alex Whitworth
Vice President, Head of Asia Pacific Power and Renewables Research
Alex Whitworth
Vice President, Head of Asia Pacific Power and Renewables Research
Alex leads our growing long term and short term power research team in Asia Pacific
Latest articles by Alex
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Opinion
2025 global power market outlook: divergent paths in a transforming energy landscape
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The Edge
Walking Japan’s energy tightrope
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Opinion
Asia Pacific power & renewables: 5 things to watch in 2025
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The Edge
Getting China back on track
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Opinion
The global power market outlook: can global power generation keep up with the energy transition?
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Opinion
Asia Pacific power and renewables: what to look for in 2024
Prakash Sharma
Vice President, Head of Scenarios and Technologies
Prakash Sharma
Vice President, Head of Scenarios and Technologies
Prakash leads a team of analysts designing research for the energy transition.
View Prakash Sharma's full profile
Emily Brugge
Senior Analyst, Copper Supply
Emily Brugge
Senior Analyst, Copper Supply
Emily contributes to the Copper Markets and Copper Concentrates services.
Latest articles by Emily
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Opinion
What’s next for copper?
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Opinion
What’s next for copper?
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Opinion
Copper: strategic insight amid policy risk and smelter margin pressures
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Opinion
Copper: 4 things to know
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Opinion
Four key takeaways from LME 2024
Bridget van Dorsten
Principal Analyst, Hydrogen
Bridget van Dorsten
Principal Analyst, Hydrogen
Bridget is a hydrogen-focused principal analyst on our Energy Transition Practice.
View Bridget van Dorsten's full profile
Suzanne Shaw
Head of Energy Transition & Battery Raw Materials
Suzanne Shaw
Head of Energy Transition & Battery Raw Materials
Suzanne specialises in commodities including cathode and precursor, lithium, cobalt, graphite, rare earths and lead.
View Suzanne Shaw's full profile
Shashank Sriram
Senior Research Analyst, Aluminium Markets
Shashank Sriram
Senior Research Analyst, Aluminium Markets
Shanshank has 10 years of Aluminium industry experience within technical and management roles.
Latest articles by Shashank
View Shashank Sriram's full profile
Prateek Biswas
Senior Research Analyst, Transport and Materials
Prateek Biswas
Senior Research Analyst, Transport and Materials
Prateek specialises in EV policy drivers, automaker electrification strategies and battery supply chain trends.
Latest articles by Prateek
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Opinion
Carjacked: electric vehicle policy under a Delayed Energy Transition scenario
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Opinion
Have policy headwinds pushed electric vehicles into the slow lane?
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Opinion
How will the new US Republican government reshape the global electric vehicle supply chain?
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Opinion
Could new EU tariffs on Chinese imports slow EV adoption?
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Opinion
What’s next for the EV and battery value chains?
Egor Prokhodtsev
Principal Research Analyst, Transportation & Mobility
Egor Prokhodtsev
Principal Research Analyst, Transportation & Mobility
Egor is a senior research analyst responsible for battery raw materials demand modelling.
Latest articles by Egor
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Opinion
Carjacked: electric vehicle policy under a Delayed Energy Transition scenario
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Opinion
Have policy headwinds pushed electric vehicles into the slow lane?
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Opinion
What’s next for the EV and battery value chains?
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Featured
Electric vehicles and battery supply chain: bumpy road ahead in 2023?
Yingchi Yang
Research Analyst, Battery Raw Material
Yingchi Yang
Research Analyst, Battery Raw Material
Yingchi focuses on supply of global cathodes and precursors.
View Yingchi Yang's full profile
Kane Carty
Senior Research Analyst, Cathodes and Precursors
Sean Mulshaw
Research Director, Nickel Markets
Sean Mulshaw
Research Director, Nickel Markets
Sean is an expert in global nickel, stainless steel and molybdenum markets.
Latest articles by Sean
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Opinion
Nickel: looking for a route back to safety
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Opinion
Nickel: looking for a route back to safety
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Opinion
Steel alloys: a defining moment
Allan Pedersen
Research Director, Lithium
