Data centre metals demand: it's all about the infrastructure not internals

Data centre growth is increasingly constrained by access to power rather than asset buildout. While internal demand for aluminium and copper rises with compute intensity, it remains bound by efficiency gains and design optimisation within the data centre. The expansion in metals demand occurs outside the asset, driven by the need for reliability at the facility level and capacity across the wider power system. This creates a nonlinear demand profile. Internal systems remain constrained, while facility infrastructure introduces a first multiplier through redundancy and on-site power systems. At the grid level, transmission, substations and generation drive a second expansion, extending total demand across the end-to-end data centre infrastructure system. The implication is clear. Data centres act as an infrastructure forcing function, shifting metals demand from inside the asset to the systems required to power it.