Nvidia pushes PCB materials competition upstream, HVLP4 copper foil gap widens

Odaily reported that Citrini analyst jukan posted on platform X, stating that as the expansion of AI infrastructure demand drives an increase in high-end PCB orders, new bottlenecks are emerging in the upstream CCL supply chain; following T-glass fiberglass fabric, HVLP4 copper foil is expected to become a key constraint starting in the second half of the year.

Industry insiders said that NVIDIA and its major clients have once again directly intervened in material supply coordination to ensure the mass production and shipment plans of next-generation AI servers stay on track. Led by NVIDIA, clients are now bypassing CCL manufacturers to engage directly with upstream material suppliers, managing fiberglass fabric and copper foil themselves, providing suppliers with clearer order visibility, shifting to a direct consignment model, and locking in key material capacity more than a year in advance.

In 2026, the supply-demand gap is expected to exceed 40%, and it will still reach 25% in 2027. As major AI servers and high-speed computing platforms migrate from HVLP2/HVLP3 to HVLP4, demand for HVLP4 copper foil is rising. The supply shortfall in 2026 is estimated at 1,500 tons; Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Co-Tech are expanding production, but the HVLP4 gap is expected to widen to 2,500 tons by 2027.