Resources have been in the news since March 2026, when the energy shock from the Middle East conflict directly hurt some emerging markets. In the longer term, however, the outlook for emerging markets in key strategic resources appears more favorable. Emerging markets have taken leadership positions in industries supporting the AI buildout, such as semiconductor manufacturing and the development and production of renewable energy technologies like solar panels.
The two sectors are inextricably linked. The AI revolution is contributing to rising electricity demand, which, in turn, is increasing demand for power generation sources. This is resulting in a surge in demand for materials such as copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium, rare earths and platinum group metals (PGM).
A significant share of economically viable reserves and production of the minerals critical to both AI and the energy transition is concentrated in emerging economies (see Figure 1).
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