AMU Summit: Data center cooling puts fin stock in focus

Mucci discussed electric conductor (EC) wire rod and sheet, including sheet used in building and construction of the data centers themselves. That said, fin stock and foil stock drew particular attention because of the cooling load tied to data centers, especially as Kibar Americas, a subsidiary of Assan Alüminyum, acquired the former Novelis Fairmont cold-rolling and foil facility earlier this year.

Cooling load moves aluminum demand downstream

Mucci said data centers should not be viewed only through the growth of artificial intelligence. Existing facilities already support internet traffic and other activity across the digital economy. AI adds another source of capacity growth.

Kibar counted about 4,500 active US data centers. It also cited 700 under construction and 1,900 more planned by the end of 2027.

But Mucci noted the planned facilities are larger in scale than many centers already in operation. The scale changes the cooling requirements. Kibar cited HVAC industry participants who put a typical data center at 150 times the cooling capacity of a residential application. They put the requirement at 20 times that of warehouses and offices with similar square footage.

Data center fin stock demand

Mucci singled out plate fin stock and micochannel.

Kibar forecast more than 26 million pounds of additional annual fin stock demand from announced data centers, which Mucci described as ongoing demand.

Mucci also said the technical challenge does not necessarily sit with the aluminum itself and placed more of that work with HVAC manufacturers as they scale cooling systems. He said aluminum suppliers will work with HVAC manufacturers on changes to changes in plate fin configuration or product dimensions.

Kibar does not expect large changes in fin stock alloys or tempers.

US foil capacity shows no net growth

The company paired the demand forecast with a US supply picture that still relies on imported foil. Mucci said five US foil mill have closed since 2020.

The company also pointed to additions since 2023. One new foil mill was announced and constructed with a stated focus on battery foil. Two closed mills have partially restarted, although Kibar said they are serving other foil markets.

Brownfield expansion has added about 50 million pounds of annual capacity, according to Mucci. Even with those additions, Mucci said total US foil capacity has not increased on a net basis.

Battery foil also competes for US capacity. Mucci additionally discussed EC wire rod in the same capacity context.

The presentation said imports of foil and EC wire rod together represented 35% to 45% of annual US apparent demand.

Micochannel adds another HVAC route

Microchannel appeared alongside fin stock in Kibar’s list of HVAC products tied to hyperscale data center growth.

Mucci described it as another market that could see higher data center aluminum demand as cooling requirements increase.

The presentation placed micochannel within the extrusion side of HVAC aluminum demand rather than the foil side.

Fairmont enters the supply picture

Kibar has also tied its own US production plans to the foil market. The company recently acquired the idled Fairmont, W.Va., rolling plant and is working to restart it.

Mucci said Kibar plans to participate in the target foil markets through Fairmont.

Kibar did not frame the restart as enough to erase the broader US foil supply gap. Instead, Mucci placed Fairmont within a market where closures have offset later capacity additions.

Kibar Americas’ parent company, Assan Alüminyum, also operates two rolling mills and a coating plant in Turkey.