Structure of the digital infrastructure supply chain 2.2 An increasingly material-intensive digital backbone faces limited visibility across a long, complex chain. Rapid growth in hyperscale and AI-optimized facilities has multiplied dependencies on high-purity metals and semiconductors, but awareness of this reliance remains low among many operators. –Interconnected systems, invisible dependencies: The data centre value chain links upstream materials and component manufacturing to complex facility integration. Multiple subsystems – computing, power, cooling and networking – are assembled in parallel, creating more than 14 interdependent supply tiers. –Timelines that can’t keep up with compute demand: Greenfield semiconductor fabrication plants typically require three to five years from investment to output,18 while servers,19 power and cooling20 equipment facilities are completed in one to three. New-build data centres take nine to 36 months, often in phases depending on scale. –Circularity – still more potential than practice: End-of-life and secondary supply from decommissioned facilities yield recoverable copper, aluminium, steel and REEs. Circular practices for semiconductors and unlimited power supply (UPS) batteries remain limited but are expected to scale later in the decade. –Concentration where chips are made – and consequent risks: Semiconductor manufacturing – central to CPUs, GPUs and memory chips – remains concentrated in East Asia (China has a 24% market share, Taiwan 18%, South Korea 18% and Japan 15%).21 Construction is distributed across North America and Europe, and emerging in Asia. This split supports cost efficiency but increases exposure to semiconductor bottlenecks, trade restrictions and logistics risks. From Minerals to Megawatts: Building Resilience for EVs, Data Centres and Power Grids 16

From Minerals to Megawatts 2025