27/08/2026
The **Safer Structures Organisation** welcomes Professor Maurizio Bragagni OBE’s contribution today on **BBC Radio 4**, where he discussed an increasingly important risk for the UK: the rising demand and cost of copper.
The growth of **AI, data centres, electrification and new energy infrastructure** is creating extraordinary demand for copper at precisely the time when global supply is under increasing pressure.
For Safer Structures, this is not simply a commodity-market issue. It is an **infrastructure resilience and safety issue**.
When essential raw materials become significantly more expensive, there is a risk that infrastructure budgets come under pressure. Cost pressure must never result in compromises over the **quality, specification, durability or safety of the materials and systems used in critical infrastructure**.
Professor Bragagni emphasised that Britain needs to think strategically about how it builds the next generation of infrastructure: secure supply chains, appropriate technical standards, quality manufacturing, long-term procurement and investment decisions that consider the whole life of an asset — not simply its initial cost.
**Safe infrastructure begins with good design, appropriate materials and responsible procurement. Rising material costs make these principles more important, not less.**
🎧 Professor Maurizio Bragagni OBE on **BBC Radio 4**, from **25:19**.
Copper demand is surging due to the AI investment boom, creating a ...
