"Replacing copper with aluminum is not a simple material substitution, but a systematic revolution based on fundamental material innovation," an industry expert commented on the recent technological breakthrough in the wiring harness industry. After years of research, the technical challenge of replacing copper with aluminum, which has plagued the automotive industry for over 20 years, has finally been overcome. This breakthrough is set to reshape the global
Automotive Wiring Harness industry and lay a crucial foundation for Chinese automakers to gain a competitive edge in the international market.
01 Resource Bottlenecks and Cost Pressures
As the global new energy vehicle (NEV) industry experiences rapid development, lightweighting, low carbon emissions, and cost reduction have become key competitive focuses. The copper usage in pure electric vehicles (EVs) is over 60 kilograms, which is 3 to 4 times that of traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. China, as the world's largest NEV market, heavily relies on imported copper, with an annual shortfall of 800,000 tons. This situation poses serious challenges to resource security and supply chain stability.
The combination of a copper resource crisis and cost pressures makes it extremely urgent to find alternative materials. Market price fluctuations further increase the difficulty of controlling production costs for entire vehicles.
02A Decade-Long Unsolved Technical Challenge
Aluminum has advantages such as low cost, low density, and abundant reserves. The price of aluminum is only one-third that of copper, and it is lighter in weight with a rich supply. However, due to technical constraints like creep and electrochemical corrosion, this material substitution solution, which has been pursued for over two decades, still has defects and cannot be widely applied in automobiles.
The performance deficiencies of aluminum in terms of electrical conductivity, creep resistance, and electrochemical corrosion, especially the reliability issues when used in automotive low-voltage wiring systems, have not been fundamentally resolved. The 1xxx series aluminum, commonly used in the industry, exhibits creep and weak mechanical strength. The 6xxx series aluminum, on the other hand, suffers from high-temperature failure, with its mechanical strength sharply decreasing above 125°C, posing a risk of long-term use and potential breakage in high-pressure wiring systems.
03Historic Breakthrough Achieved
This year, the industry finally achieved a historic breakthrough in aluminum replacing copper technology. By designing aluminum alloy materials at the atomic level, it fundamentally solved the problems of creep failure of aluminum materials at high temperatures and electrochemical corrosion when connected to copper. The new aluminum alloy maintains stable mechanical properties at 180°C, with creep performance approaching that of pure copper. After 300 hours of microscopic testing, during the phase 1 to early phase 2 of creep, only relatively isolated micro-pores were observed, with no continuous voids.
Behind this technological breakthrough is six years of dedicated digital R&D investment. The R&D team integrated AI technologies such as knowledge graphs, computational simulation, machine learning, and digital twins to build a specialized large-scale artificial intelligence application model.
04Significant Economic and Social Benefits
After the comprehensive promotion of aluminum replacing copper technology, each vehicle can reduce its copper usage by approximately 10 kilograms, resulting in a 10% cost reduction and significant weight loss for the entire vehicle. Based on the current growth rate of new energy vehicle sales, this technology is expected to open up a market space worth 36 to 48 billion yuan for new materials in low-voltage wiring harnesses. In terms of environmental benefits, it could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 850,000 tons annually. Replacing copper with aluminum will effectively alleviate the strategic risk associated with China's high dependence on imported copper resources, promoting the transformation of the industry chain towards being more resource-efficient and environmentally friendly.
Currently, aluminum replacement materials have entered the validation phase at several major automakers and Tier 1 suppliers, with mass production and vehicle integration expected by the end of 2026.
05 New Model of Ecosystem Co-creation
This technological breakthrough adopted the "ecosystem co-creation" model. By collaborating with leading companies in materials, equipment, connectors, and wiring harnesses, a closed-loop technology system and rapid implementation were achieved. Solving systemic issues cannot be accomplished by working in isolation; only through the cooperation of leading enterprises across various segments of the industrial chain can technological challenges be overcome and large-scale applications realized. This collaborative model not only shortened the product development cycle (by more than 40% compared to traditional methods) but also promoted the standardization and modularization of the automotive wiring harness market. The ecosystem model provides a reference for innovation in other technological fields, demonstrating how breakthroughs in technology can be achieved through industrial chain collaboration.
06The future application prospects are broad.
As the demand for high-voltage wiring harnesses and high-speed data transmission continues to grow, the substitution of aluminum for copper will extend to more fields. By 2030, the penetration rate of aluminum in automotive wiring harnesses is expected to reach 65%. This transition not only reduces the manufacturing cost per vehicle by approximately 800-1200 yuan but also drives the industrial value chain towards a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly model, deeply aligning with the national "dual carbon" strategic goals. The industry will continue to expand the application of aluminum as a substitute for copper in high-voltage wiring harnesses, high-speed, and high-frequency cables, further unlocking the potential of material substitution. In the future, the technology of replacing copper with aluminum may extend beyond the new energy vehicle sector, providing solutions for a wider range of electrical connection applications.
