Vehicle electrification is a major part of the legislation’s focus. It would provide $7.5B for low-emissions buses and ferries, and aims to deliver thousand of electric school buses to districts across the country. Another $7.5B would go towards building a nationwide network of plug-in EV chargers.

This past August, Biden signed an executive order requiring that half of all US new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.

$65 billion is earmarked for rebuilding the electrical grid including thousands of new miles of power lines and expanding renewable energy, according to the White House.

Biden’s proposed beefing up of the electric vehicle sector with subsidies, adding 500,000 new charging stations and converting half a million school buses to zero emissions, would require nearly 2 million tonnes of copper over the next 10 years, or 200,000 tonnes a year, states a 2021 report from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), via Kitco.

That is equivalent to adding 10% to US copper demand of 1.9 million tonnes, or 1% to global demand. Aluminum and nickel also are expected to benefit from EV sales.

“The real kicker will be the $7.5 billion investment in electronic vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Overall we see growth in copper demand hitting double digits over the next year or two,” ANZ wrote in the report.

“Construction has traditionally been the biggest contributor to demand for most metals,” the report emphasized. “Therefore, this spending package should boost demand for copper and zinc, in particular.”

ANZ points to wiring and cabling in new home construction as an example of higher expected copper usage.

“Building and construction use 22–23% of U.S. copper demand, which is nearly 800kt of copper,” the report specified. “Construction of two million houses would generate nearly 320kt of copper demand over eight years, 40kt per year in a very optimistic scenario.”

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