Video | Data centres, copper and the power paradox

Data centres are shifting from a cloud-led to an AI-driven growth story, with implications for both copper and aluminium demand. As build-out accelerates, metals intensity spans both the data centre itself and the surrounding infrastructure required to power it.

Copper is expected to remain dominant within the data centre “box”, particularly in high-density applications such as servers, CPUs and last-mile cabling, where performance is critical. Beyond the box, demand extends into power systems (including cabling, transformers and grid connections) highlighting the broader, system-wide impact.

Estimates suggest copper demand of around 20 kt per gigawatt of capacity, underscoring the scale of potential upside as deployment grows. But the outlook is not without constraints. Data centres and metals production share a common dependency on power, creating direct competition for electricity.

This gives rise to a “chicken-and-egg” dynamic: the same build-out driving metals demand may also limit the ability to produce those materials at an economic cost. At the same time, while capital costs are rising, power availability, not price, may ultimately prove the binding constraint.

In the full episode, we explore:

• How copper demand differs inside vs outside the data centre
• The role of substitution between copper and aluminium - and where it matters most
• Why data centre growth may be less sensitive to metals prices than expected
• The emerging competition for power between data centres and metals production
• How much demand upside data centres could generate at scale
• Why location is as important as magnitude for future growth

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