From Minerals to Megawatts 2025

The hidden footprint of digitalization 1.2 Consultations revealed that awareness of mineral reliance among data centre actors remains low despite accelerating demand. Rapid expansion of hyperscale and AI-optimized facilities is creating a new layer of mineral demand beyond traditional manufacturing. By 2035, data centres are projected to account for about 6% of global gallium use and some 2.4% of germanium demand. While relatively small in volume, these minerals are critical to enable efficient, high- performance computing. Breaking down the data centre into its key subsystems highlights how different functions – from computing to cooling – depend on distinct sets of materials and drive exposure to a wide range of refined metals. Servers and chips Although moderate in overall mass, the compute layer concentrates high-value, high-purity materials – silicon, gallium, germanium, gold, silver and tin – that underpin performance and reliability. Networking and storage Networking and facility-level storage hardware represents limited mass but depends on a complex mix of refined metals (such as copper and aluminium) and specialty materials to deliver conductivity, signal precision and thermal stability. Cooling systems Cooling and heat-rejection infrastructure accounts for the largest share of total metal mass, dominated by aluminium, copper and steel. Electrical systems Power-distribution – switchgear, transformer cabling – is among the most copper- and iron-intensive part of data centre construction and a major cost and schedule driver. Backup power Backup systems integrate generators, batteries, converters and switchgear that collectively anchor power reliability and build system redundancy. Trend: Rising compute intensity, power demand and thermal loads are reshaping materials use in data centres – increasing reliance on copper and aluminium for power and cooling systems, expanding exposure to gallium, silicon carbide and other specialized semiconductors, and adding new dependencies on lithium-ion technologies for backup power.6 From Minerals to Megawatts: Building Resilience for EVs, Data Centres and Power Grids 9