“If you look at the demand that is coming from data centers and related to that from AI, that growth has suddenly exploded,” said Rahim.
The one million tons is “on top of what we have as four to five million ton deficit gap by 2030 anyway,” Rahim said. “That’s not something that anyone has actually factored into a lot of these supply and demand balances.”
Rahim did not say what global copper demand would be in 2030.
Key to the green energy transition, copper’s superior conductivity makes it an essential material for maximizing efficiency in electricity transmission and distribution.
Even before AI, data centers relied on copper for various electrical applications, including power cables, busbars, electrical connectors, heat exchangers, cooling sinks, and power distribution strips.
It’s estimated that 1MW of datacenter power capacity could necessitate anywhere between 20 to 40 tons of copper.
To illustrate the scale of demand, Microsoft’s $500 million data center in Chicago required 2,177 tonnes of copper for its construction.
The North American data center infrastructure market is projected to expand from a $33 billion business in 2020 to $70 billion in 2030 and a substantial $185 billion in 2040.
Estimates suggest that copper consumption for data centers will rise from 197,000 tonnes in 2020 to 238,000 tonnes in 2030 and further to 293,000 tonnes in 2040.
This article was published by: Bruno Venditti
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