Bottlenecks curbing the widespread use of aluminium alloy wires and cables

The State Grid Corporation of China has released a list recently that includes aluminium alloy wire and cables in its new technologies promotion plan.

SMM interviewed some insiders in the industry on September 24th at the 6th All China International Wire & Cable Industry Trade Fair which revealed that there are some bottlenecks that is preventing widespread use and production of aluminium alloy in wire and cable production.

The biggest obstacle in the implementation of the new change is the lack of national standards for aluminium alloy wire.

The market is piling up with detailed requirements for aluminium alloy conductors and rods yet there is no sign of any national standards for the wires and cables for which the market players have been waiting for a long time.

A reliable source related to the development of national standards states that since there are hundreds of companies in China producing aluminium alloy wire and cables, with less than 10% capable of meeting international standards. This has made it difficult to come up with a common national standard.

Moreover, industry experts have stated the use of aluminium alloy wire and cable can only be applied in high voltage or ultra-high voltage grids (= 10-35KV), which means it will not completely replace the use of copper wires specially in low voltage systems.

The consumption of aluminium alloy wires and cables have been limited to regular clients in recent years which means the growth of aluminium wire and cable capacities are mostly curbed.