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Aluminum alloy cables will continue to see rising demand in China.
Aluminum alloy cables will continue to see rising demand in China.
Release date:
2013-12-31
Source:
[Cable News Network] Aluminum alloy cables have always been a hot topic in the industry, with growing market demand—especially now that they’ve received strong support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As relevant standards are formulated and implemented, aluminum alloy cables are poised to enter a golden age of development. In recent years, copper usage in the cable industry has steadily increased. By 2012, China’s annual copper consumption in the cable sector had surpassed 5 million tons, accounting for more than 60% of the country’s total copper usage. Given China’s relatively limited copper resources and the high cost of copper, "replacing copper with aluminum" has emerged as a major industry trend in recent years. At the 2013 Global Wire & Cable Conference, Gong Xinming, Chief Technical Advisor at CTC Asia, highlighted the significant social value of substituting aluminum for copper.
[Cable News Network] Aluminum alloy cables have always been a hot topic in the industry, with growing market demand—especially now that they’ve received strong support from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As standards are formulated and implemented, aluminum alloy cables are poised to enter a golden age of development.
In recent years, the amount of copper used in cables has risen steadily each year. By 2012, China's cable industry consumed over 5 million tons of copper annually, accounting for more than 60% of the country's total copper usage. Given China's relatively limited copper resources and the high price of copper, "replacing copper with aluminum" has become a major industry trend in recent years.
CTC Asia's Chief Technology Advisor, Gong Xinming, stated at the 2013 Global Wire and Cable Annual Conference that replacing copper with aluminum carries immense social and economic value. Compared to copper, China boasts significantly richer aluminum resources—and at a much lower cost. Moreover, when measured by weight, aluminum actually outperforms copper in terms of electrical conductivity: one ton of aluminum can conduct electricity as effectively as roughly two tons of copper. By adopting an aluminum-for-copper approach in cable manufacturing, cable companies could dramatically reduce their production costs.
You Wei, Director of the Special Conductor Research Institute at Zhongtian Technology and Chief Engineer of Shanghai Zhongtian Aluminum Wire Co., Ltd., stated at the 2nd Asia High-end Wire & Cable Summit that the State Grid has launched a pilot program to deploy energy-saving conductors. In 2012, the State Grid Infrastructure Department selected 30 pilot projects aimed at reducing transmission losses and lowering operation and maintenance costs—achieving remarkable overall results. Building on this success, in 2013, the State Grid Infrastructure Department plans to choose 450 additional projects for pilot implementation. By 2014, aluminum alloy conductors are expected to fully replace conventional steel-cored aluminum stranded wires across the board.
Liu Bin from the Shanghai Cable Research Institute wrote in a recent article: "In recent years, the concept of aluminum alloy cables has gradually gained acceptance in the domestic market, with rapidly growing market demand. It is foreseeable that the application of aluminum alloy cables in China will continue to rise."
Huang Chongqi, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who has served the cable industry for over 60 years, is a renowned expert in China's non-ferrous metals field. In recent years, he has been actively promoting aluminum-conductor cables across the country. He says, "Currently, the use of aluminum-conductor cables has become a major global trend, with many countries already putting it into practice. China should also start exploring this approach."
"On December 12, Zhang Ronghan, Director of the Heavy Equipment Division at the Equipment Industry Department of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated at the 2nd China (Wuhu) Wire & Cable Expo and Product Quality Summit: 'Cables featuring aluminum alloy cores have been widely used in Western developed countries for over 40 years, playing a significant role in low-voltage building and infrastructure applications, as well as power distribution systems for related facilities. With ongoing advancements in science and technology, aluminum alloy cable technology has steadily matured, and its growing adoption is poised to become an industry trend.'"
On December 20, the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, jointly convened the "Seminar on Expanding the Application of Aluminum in the Power Industry" in Beijing. Attendees unanimously recommended that the state should establish a mechanism for promoting aluminum materials, continuously refine the related standards system, strengthen market supervision, and regulate downstream supporting industries for cables. In particular, they emphasized the need to intensify publicity efforts promoting "aluminum replacing copper" and provide policy support for the application of new products. Additionally, they encouraged relevant power engineering projects to adopt aluminum-based products, stepped up market development initiatives, and steadily advanced the wider use of aluminum in the power industry.
An official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that cables using aluminum alloy as the core wire can be widely utilized in low-voltage buildings, structures, and their associated facilities. Given China's relatively scarce copper resources and the high price of copper, substituting aluminum for copper—especially with the advancement of new technologies and application techniques—makes aluminum-alloy cable technology increasingly promising. In the future, the development and widespread adoption of aluminum-alloy cables are set to become a major trend.
As the aluminum alloy cable boom gains momentum, many companies have eagerly invested in research and development, with frequent positive reports emerging. Far East Cable's aluminum alloy conductor power cables, Anhui Pacific Cable's rare-earth aluminum alloy power cables, Jiangsu Zhongchen Cable's aluminum alloy conductor fire-resistant and eco-friendly power cables, and Hebei Yixin Cable Company's rare-earth high-speed rail aluminum alloy cables—each innovation continues to push the boundaries of this rapidly evolving industry.
Academician Lei Qingquan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering expressed his support for the company's R&D efforts, stating: "In the future cable market, aluminum alloy cables will see increasingly widespread application, and their eventual replacement of copper-core cables is bound to become an inevitable trend."
Chen Quanxun, Counselor of the State Council and Chairman of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, said, "This is a materials revolution in the nonferrous metals industry."
As the pace of urbanization accelerates and "replacing copper with aluminum" has become a national strategy, aluminum conductor cables—once quietly "lurking" in the shadows—have finally begun to boldly challenge their copper counterparts. In recent years, the concept of aluminum alloy cables has gradually gained acceptance in the domestic market, leading to rapid growth in demand. Looking ahead, it’s clear that the adoption of aluminum alloy cables in China will continue to rise, signaling the imminent arrival of a brand-new era for cable technology.
(This article was first published on CableABC.com. Please credit the source when reprinting.)
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