Data centres and AI could add 200,000 tons to copper demand by 2030, says Macquarie

Copper demand linked to data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) could add around 200,000 metric tons per year by 2030, significantly less than some other market estimates, Australian financial group Macquarie said in a note on Wednesday.

“There has been a lot of recent hype over the potential impact of data centres and AI on copper demand, with reported estimates ranging from 500,000 tons to over 2 million tons per year by 2030. We think the actual impact will be considerably lower than this,” analysts at Macquarie said in the note.

Macquarie estimates that 95,000 tons of copper a year would be needed for construction of power capacity related to the data centres, while for the data centres themselves, the increase in demand versus current demand would range from 60,000 to 140,000 tons of copper per year by 2030.

Accelerating production of electric vehicles, solar panels and grid investment in top consumer China have already boosted demand outlook for copper used in the power and construction industries.

That combined with tight supplies of copper concentrate has propelled copper prices on the London Metal Exchange to the highest in more than two years of $10,350 a ton.

This year and in 2025, however, the global copper market faces a surplus of 162,000 tons and of 94,000 tons, respectively, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG).