Details
May 18, 2026
9:00AM - 10:00AM EDT
USAEE Webinar: Copper in the Age of AI
Exclusive Member Webinar Presented by USAEE and LSU Center for Energy Studies
Virtual Event
Join the United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE), on Monday, May 18 at 9:00 a.m. EDT for "Copper in the Age of AI," a webinar featuring Keerti Rajan, Research and Analysis Director, Economics & Country Risk for S&P Global Market Intelligence and Aurian De La Noue, Executive Director, Energy Transition and Critical Minerals Consulting for S&P Global.
Navigating the Copper Crunch: Powering AI, Electrification, and the Future
Copper is the critical metal powering our future. With the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, data centers, and the global energy transition, copper demand is projected to surge 50% by 2040, reaching 42 million metric tons. But is the world producing enough to keep pace?
With primary mined supply expected to peak by 2030 and a looming 10-million-metric-ton shortfall on the horizon, the industry faces unprecedented challenges—from 17-year mine development timelines to declining ore grades and rising geopolitical risks.
Join our upcoming webinar for an exclusive, data-driven deep dive into the global copper market. Whether you're an investor, industry professional, or policy stakeholder, this session will equip you with the insights needed to navigate the complex future of this essential commodity.
What You'll Learn:
- The Demand Boom
How AI, data centers, clean energy technologies, defense infrastructure, and humanoid robots are driving massive new demand for copper—with energy transition and data centers alone accounting for 43% of demand growth by 2040. - The Supply Crisis
Why 17-year mine development timelines, declining ore grades, operational challenges, and technical complexities threaten future supply—and what a projected 10-million-metric-ton shortfall means for global markets. - Geopolitics & Supply Chains
The impact of China's dominance in copper smelting and refining, regional supply-demand imbalances, and the rising risks of resource nationalism and regulatory uncertainty. - Strategic Solutions
Actionable recommendations for closing the gap—from accelerating shovel-ready projects and extending mine life to boosting recycling rates, diversifying processing capacity, and building resilient, diversified supply chains.
Don't miss this critical conversation on the future of the world's most essential metal. Register today!
This webinar is presented in collaboration with the LSU Center for Energy Studies (CES). The webinar is open exclusively to USAEE members and LSU CES sustaining members. Registration is required; there is no fee to attend.
Keerti Rajan
Research and Analysis Director, Economics & Country Risk | S&P Global Market Intelligence
Keerti Rajan is the Director of the Integrated Research team within Economics & Country Risk at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The Integrated Research team works with our experts to combine proprietary data and insights from across economics, country risk, and industry teams to create holistic, forward-looking analysis that helps our clients make effective business decisions. He has previously led the Asia-Pacific desk and the Political Risk desk for our Country Risk team where he was responsible for the global calibration of political and business risks and development of the Country Risk team's methodology. He assessed systemic credit and liquidity risks to UK financial stability for the Bank of England; built stochastic models to forecast capital adequacy for financial companies at Moore Stephens Consulting; and worked in RBS's equity derivatives business.
He earned a Ph.D. in political economy at the University of Cambridge with a thesis on the social epidemiology of income inequality in India. His previous academic work compared Indonesia and Malaysia during the Asian Financial Crisis.
Aurian De La Noue
Executive Director, Energy Transition and Critical Minerals Consulting | S&P Global
Aurian is a Senior Director in the Energy Transition practice at S&P Global, and is the global lead for critical minerals and metals consulting. With over twelve years of experience, he has led numerous consulting projects in the energy transition space, particularly within the metals and mining industry. Aurian has worked with major mining conglomerates, banks, governments, and energy companies. Aurian's expertise in critical minerals includes developing integrated supply, demand, and structural cost models, as well as creating decarbonization pathways for key commodities. He has also worked on emission reduction strategies and climate-related scenario analysis for mining producers. Notably, Aurian worked on Egyptian Government's Mining Masterplan between 2018 and 2021, supporting the Ministry of Petroleum in setting up its exploration auction round, its mining cadastre and bid evaluation criteria for the country's first ever mining auction.
Before joining S&P Global, Aurian was a Principal Consultant in Wood Mackenzie's Metals & mining consulting practice, focusing on iron ore, steel, and base metal. He holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the McGill University and an M.Sc. in Management from the London School of Economics.
