Against the backdrop of accelerating the transformation of global manufacturing towards high-end and intelligent industries, copper alloys - a metal material with thousands of years of history - are revitalizing through technological innovation and industrial synergy. From precision components of new energy vehicles to corrosion-resistant shells of deep-sea probes, from high-speed connectors of 5G base stations to superalloys as alternative materials in the aerospace industry, copper alloys are becoming a key cornerstone supporting new quality productivity with a "high-precision and cutting-edge" attitude.

Technological breakthrough: New alloy solves the contradiction between "high temperature strength - conductivity and thermal conductivity"
In April 2025, a joint team from the US Army Research Laboratory and Lihai University published a groundbreaking achievement in the journal Science: a ternary nanostructured alloy called Cu Ta Li (copper tantalum lithium), which achieved high-temperature strength close to nickel based superalloys while maintaining high conductivity/thermal conductivity of copper based materials through a unique "interface phase stabilization nanostructure" design. Experimental data shows that the alloy maintains a yield strength of 947MPa at a high temperature of 800 ℃, and the strength decreases by only 4% after 10000 hours of annealing, while traditional copper alloys experience a strength decrease of over 20% under the same conditions. This breakthrough provides a lightweight and highly thermally conductive alternative material solution for fields such as hypersonic aircraft and nuclear energy equipment.

At the same time, domestic enterprises are accelerating technological iteration. Ningbo Xingye Shengtai Group has successfully developed high-performance copper alloy strip foil with a thickness of only 0.03mm, with a strength of over 950MPa, breaking the foreign monopoly and applied to high-speed connectors for AI servers; The newly built copper and copper alloy wide and thick plate production line project of China Aluminum Luoyang Copper Processing Co., Ltd. achieves an annual production capacity of 18000 tons through core equipment such as a four roll reversible wide plate cold and hot rolling mill, and serves high-end fields such as new energy vehicle battery connectors.

Industrial upgrading: the rise of county-level economy and the emergence of the "copper alloy industry cluster"
In Nanling County, Anhui Province, copper alloys are becoming the core engine for high-quality economic development in the county. Anhui Yongjie Copper Industry, a well-established enterprise, has invested in the construction of a high-precision copper alloy plate and strip project with an annual output of 100000 tons. Through electrical automation upgrades and intelligent transformations, the product performance has reached international standards, and the annual production capacity has increased by 15000 tons, directly supplying new energy vehicle battery manufacturers. The Nanling base of global photovoltaic module manufacturer Daheng Energy has improved the power generation efficiency of photovoltaic modules by 6% -15% with patented full screen technology, with an estimated annual output value of 2.2 billion yuan, promoting the cross-border integration of "copper alloy+new energy".

The head of the Development and Reform Commission of Nanling County stated that the local area has formed a dual wheel drive pattern of "leading industries in automobiles and parts+advantageous industries in intelligent logistics equipment", and is accelerating the layout of emerging tracks such as advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage. In the first quarter of 2025, the industrial added value of the whole county increased by 12.3% year-on-year. Two enterprises passed the national level specialized, refined, special and new "Little Giant" review, and 18 enterprises were approved as provincial-level innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. The industrial cluster effect is significant.