Data Center Growth Sets Copper Demand on Fire
Data center copper demand is expected to surge by 127% by 2040, from 1.1 million metric tons in 2025 to 2.5 million metric tons, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) training facilities and broader electrification and economic growth.
According to S&P Global, AI training facilities are projected to account for 58% of data-center copper demand by 2030. The increased electricity requirements will extend copper consumption into generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure, adding around 1 million metric tons of copper demand annually by 2040.
The growth in data center capacity can be financed and built faster than new copper supply, which takes approximately 17.5 years from discovery to production. As a result, projects already advancing through development have a shorter remaining path toward production.