The phrase most often attached to AI data centres is “power-hungry”. It is true, but only partly. What builds those facilities and fills them is not electricity, but steel. Data centres run on electricity, but they are built with steel. In a recent report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) broke data centres down into five subsystems and estimated the metal intensity per megawatt (MW). Of the 60-75 tonnes (t) of metals required for every MW, nearly two-thirds, or around 48 t, is steel. This far exceeds copper (11-12 t) and aluminium (11 t), making steel the single largest material used.
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