Low-carbon aluminium cables are heading to an Amazon data centre
Prysmian and Rio Tinto will use ELYSIS metal in Ohio, connecting cleaner smelting technology with fast-growing digital infrastructure.
The story
Cable maker Prysmian and Rio Tinto are partnering to supply low-carbon aluminium electrical cables for an Amazon data centre in Ohio, Reuters reported.
The metal is produced with ELYSIS inert-anode technology, designed to eliminate direct greenhouse-gas emissions from the smelting process and release oxygen instead. Applying it to power cables gives the technology a large industrial customer and a demanding real-world use case.
Data centres face scrutiny not only for electricity consumption but also for the embodied carbon in buildings and equipment. Procurement decisions like this can help move lower-carbon materials from pilot production toward repeatable demand.
INNOVOX analysis
Data-centre sustainability is often discussed in terms of electricity, but construction materials and electrical equipment also carry substantial embodied emissions. A credible procurement strategy has to address both. Using a commercial project to create demand for cleaner aluminium can help move new smelting processes beyond demonstration scale and give suppliers evidence for future orders.
What to watch
The useful measures will be verified lifecycle emissions, the volume of material supplied and whether the approach is repeated across additional facilities. Cost and availability will determine whether lower-carbon metal becomes a standard specification or remains limited to flagship projects.