Prysmian and Rio Tinto Deploy Low-Carbon Aluminum for AI Data Center

Prysmian and Rio Tinto, in collaboration with Amazon, have deployed electrical cables made using Rio Tinto's ELYSIS aluminum in an Amazon data center in Ohio, described as the first known use of inert-anode-smelted aluminum in a data center. Prysmian is manufacturing the cables at its Sedalia, Missouri facility, with distribution and delivery supported by Wesco.

 

Why Inert Anodes Address a Different Emissions Source Than Typical Aluminum Decarbonisation Approaches

 

Conventional aluminum smelting relies on carbon anodes, which are progressively consumed during the smelting process and release both carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons as byproducts of that consumption, emissions occurring as an inherent part of the smelting chemistry itself rather than stemming from the electricity used to power the smelter. That distinction matters because many aluminum decarbonisation efforts focus primarily on switching the electricity source powering smelting operations toward renewable power, addressing the emissions associated with electricity generation, but leaving the direct process emissions from the carbon anode reaction itself unaddressed.

ELYSIS technology instead replaces these consumable carbon anodes with what the release describes as "proprietary materials that release pure oxygen instead of greenhouse gases," directly eliminating this specific process emissions source at its origin, rather than only reducing the emissions associated with the electricity input powering the smelting process. That distinction explains why Amazon's Joern Tinnemeyer specifically noted "traditionally, making aluminum is carbon-intensive, but this wire was made with technology that emits oxygen instead of carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons," directly identifying the anode reaction itself, not electricity sourcing, as the emissions source this specific technology addresses.

 

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Why Pairing This Technology With Quebec Hydropower Compounds Two Separate Decarbonisation Levers

 

Rio Tinto's Matt Schicke specifically stated "all of the aluminum supplied by Rio Tinto for these cables was produced in Quebec, Canada, using hydropower, including the aluminum made with ELYSIS inert anode technology," framing the approach as "combining renewable power with a breakthrough smelting process that eliminates direct greenhouse gas emissions." That combination addresses both major emissions sources in aluminum production simultaneously, the electricity input, sourced from Quebec's hydropower generation, and the direct process emissions from the anode reaction itself, addressed through the inert anode technology, rather than addressing either source independently while leaving the other largely unresolved.

That dual-lever approach represents a meaningfully more comprehensive decarbonisation outcome for this specific aluminum than either intervention alone would achieve, since aluminum produced using inert anode technology but powered by a carbon-intensive electricity grid would still carry substantial embedded emissions from its electricity source, while aluminum produced using renewable electricity but conventional carbon anodes would still generate the direct process emissions this technology specifically eliminates.

 

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Why the Multi-Party Supply Chain Structure Reveals Coordination Required Across Four Distinct Companies

 

This deployment required coordinated participation across four distinct organisations, each contributing a specific, non-substitutable role: Rio Tinto supplying the low-carbon aluminum itself, Prysmian manufacturing that aluminum into finished electrical cables at its Missouri facility, Wesco handling distribution and delivery logistics to the project site, and Amazon as the ultimate end customer specifying and deploying the resulting cables within its data center infrastructure. That structure illustrates a genuine coordination challenge inherent to introducing a novel, lower-carbon raw material into an established industrial supply chain, since a material innovation at the raw aluminum production stage alone couldn't reach actual deployment without corresponding manufacturing, distribution and end-customer adoption decisions all aligning to accept and specify that specific lower-carbon material variant throughout the remainder of the supply chain.

Wesco's David Speidelsbach specifically framed this dynamic directly, stating the project "demonstrates what is possible when manufacturers, distributors and end users work together to accelerate innovation," language that acknowledges this kind of raw material innovation typically requires this broader multi-party supply chain alignment to translate from a production-stage technical breakthrough into an actual deployed product a customer like Amazon can specify and install within its own infrastructure.

 

Why This Builds on an Established Prior Partnership Rather Than Representing an Isolated Transaction

 

The release specifically notes "the project builds on the collaboration announced by Prysmian and Rio Tinto in March 2026 to introduce aluminum building wire produced using the ELYSIS technology," indicating this Amazon data center deployment represents an application of an already-established Prysmian-Rio Tinto partnership rather than a newly formed relationship created specifically for this single project. That existing partnership foundation likely provided the established supply chain relationship and product development groundwork needed to bring this specific low-carbon aluminum cable product to market considerably faster than would have been possible if Prysmian and Rio Tinto were establishing their working relationship and product specifications for the first time specifically for this Amazon deployment.

 

Source: Prysmian