Critical Minerals Use in Data Centers: Supply Chain, Lifecycle, and Circularity Implications for U.S. Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure

The Benchmarking Life Cycle Environmental, Economic, and Social Metrics for Critical and Advanced Minerals and Materials (BLEECAMTM) tool is an integrated decision-support platform that enables DOE and industry to evaluate, optimize, and de-risk the deployment of materials, processes and emerging technologies in critical mineral supply chains across all life cycle stages.The Tool integrates dynamic, multi-objective supply chain optimization, system dynamics, network design, life cycle assessment, technoeconomic- and life cycle costing analysis, and social life cycle assessment in a single platform. This platform evaluates the impacts of emerging materials and technologies before large-scale deployment, including new processing routes, recycling pathways, substitutions, and domestic supply chain expansion.