Copper is also critical for water and sanitation infrastructure, including pump motors, electrical wiring, heat exchangers, and other electrical equipment used to treat wastewater. Looming water scarcity caused by industrial demand and climate change is expected to prompt a doubling of global investments in wastewater reduction, water remediation, and desalination over the next decade.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are also driving demand. Although EVs today comprise a small percentage of the global car market, in two decades their share could grow to 80 percent of global car sales.(2) Whereas the average gas engine vehicle now uses 20 kg of copper, the average hybrid vehicle uses 40 kg. Plug-in EVs use an astonishing 109 kg of copper.

global copper production consumed by sector

The trends inducing higher copper demand are global. The G20’s Global Infrastructure Outlook estimates that US$94 trillion in investment is needed across 50 countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2040. (3) Some US$236 billion would be needed each year until 2030 just to meet the water and electricity goals. In the US, President Biden’s infrastructure plan alone outlines US$1 trillion in spending that could necessitate use of another 110,000 tons of copper annually.