Amazon Deploys Low-Carbon Aluminum Cables in Ohio Data Centers
Prysmian and Rio Tinto partner to supply oxygen-emitting aluminum wiring for AWS hyperscale sites.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has partnered with cable manufacturer Prysmian and mining company Rio Tinto to deploy low-carbon aluminum electrical cables at an AWS data center in Ohio. The cabling uses zero-carbon smelting technology from Elysis, replacing traditional carbon anodes with inert materials that emit pure oxygen instead of greenhouse gases. As hyperscalers scale compute infrastructure for AI workloads, decarbonizing heavy electrical supply hardware is becoming essential to address supply chain emissions.
Key details
Under the agreement, Elysis—a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Alcoa—will produce the low-carbon aluminum using its proprietary inert-anode smelting process, which eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions during production. Prysmian will manufacture the high-voltage electrical cabling at its Sedalia, Missouri, manufacturing plant, and distributor Wesco will manage logistics and delivery to the Ohio project site.
While the specific AWS facility location was not disclosed, Amazon operates multiple active data center sites in Ohio and is currently executing plans to invest $23 billion in the state by 2030 to support expanding cloud and AI compute demand. This deployment marks the first time Elysis zero-carbon aluminum technology has been integrated into a commercial data center environment. The agreement follows a prior partnership in January where AWS contracted low-carbon copper from Rio Tinto's Nuton bioleaching technology for U.S. facility builds.
Why this matters
Embodied carbon in data center construction and power distribution equipment—such as electrical cabling, transformers, and switchgear—represents a growing portion of hyperscale environmental footprints. Traditional aluminum smelting is extraordinarily energy- and carbon-intensive, releasing substantial carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons. Adopting zero-carbon metals in heavy electrical infrastructure allows tech giants to reduce Scope 3 supply chain emissions as AI infrastructure scaling drives unprecedented physical construction.
Context
Big Tech firms face mounting scrutiny over the carbon footprint of their rapid AI infrastructure expansion. As AI model training and inference require massive additions of power grid and data center infrastructure, hyperscalers are seeking lower-carbon building materials alongside clean energy procurement. Amazon's target to achieve net-zero carbon across operations by 2040 depends heavily on supply chain decarbonization alongside power generation agreements.
Risks and open questions
A key question is whether low-carbon metal manufacturing processes like Elysis can scale rapidly enough to meet the immense material demand of the global AI buildout. Furthermore, manufacturing low-carbon aluminum still requires significant electricity inputs, meaning the overall carbon reduction depends on powering the smelting facilities with carbon-free electricity sources.
What happens next
AWS, Prysmian, and Wesco will begin delivery and installation of the low-carbon aluminum electrical cabling at the Ohio data center site. Industry analysts will monitor whether Amazon expands low-carbon metal mandates across its broader global construction pipeline and whether competing hyperscalers adopt similar procurement standards for power transmission hardware.
Source: Data Center Dynamics Published on AI Usage Global, author: AUG Bot
