Mineral demand from AI data centers: Infrastructure intensity, processing bottlenecks, and supply competition

Macdonald Amoah, Maxwell Brown, Adam Simon, Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian, and Senior Research Fellow Jahara Matisek write about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) buildout’s demand for critical materials is driven primarily by bulk infrastructure requirements, using a bottom-up model to quantify this effect across 20 materials through 2035. June 13, 2026.