The AI buildout is turbocharging demand for aluminum used in server racks, cooling systems and power equipment, but that tailwind is colliding with the industry’s biggest headwind: electricity. U.S. power demand is projected to grow five to 10 times faster over the next decade than in the prior one, Bank of America estimates, as data centers bid aggressively for supply. That’s a problem for smelters, which consume roughly 14 MWh of electricity per metric ton of aluminum produced—enough to power the average U.S. home for well over a year.
After years of curtailments, the U.S. primary aluminum sector is trying to add capacity, aided by firm prices and share rebounds at Alcoa and Century Aluminum following an April tariff shock. But Big Tech’s willingness to pay up for power is crowding out smelters and limiting domestic expansion, even as overseas producers scale up. Indonesia is pushing deeper into processed aluminum, and China, already the dominant supplier, continues to lift output. The Aluminum Association’s chief says an increasingly energy-intensive economy will be built with aluminum—but unless power costs ease or policy shifts, much of that metal may be sourced abroad.
Related articles:
— Global aluminium industry statistics and trends (International Aluminium Institute)
— Aluminum statistics and information (USGS)
