Breaking through TE aluminum replacing copper: How the industry chain can break the "involution"

Ask AI · How can industry chain collaborative innovation avoid involution and achieve a win-win situation?

On one side are copper price fluctuations and mounting cost reduction pressures; on the other side, global copper mine supply tightening, with geopolitical and environmental standards further increasing resource uncertainties… The dual pressures of cost reduction and resource security have evolved into a collective anxiety spreading among industry chain enterprises.

Meanwhile, the normalization of industry “involution” is also testing the resilience of industry companies. How to respond? Continue to “cut” within the already thin profit margins, or seek a disruptive second curve? The story of TE Connectivity (TE) and aluminum substitution for copper innovation provides a reference model for breaking industry deadlocks and shifting the entire industry chain from zero-sum competition to multi-win coexistence.

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“Moving Mountains,” Subverting the “Headache Medicine” at the Fundamental Logic Level

Aluminum, due to its abundant reserves and relatively low price, has become a suitable alternative to copper. However, the long-standing “hard disease” of aluminum substitution for copper also persists. Twenty years ago, some companies attempted to introduce aluminum wiring into automobiles, but electrochemical corrosion caused conductors to decay, and aluminum creep led to loosening at connection points. More troublesome is that aluminum is soft, and traditional crimping processes easily damage it. Although German automakers have used it on a small scale, and Japanese automakers have also made partial attempts, these are conservative compromises that do not address the root of the problem.

Sun Xiaoguang, Vice President and General Manager of TE’s Automotive Business Unit and Industrial & Commercial Transportation Business Unit in China, succinctly identified the core issue as “industry chain fragmentation.” In an exclusive interview with China Automotive News, he admitted that over the past 20 years, connector, wire, and material manufacturers have fought their own battles, and innovation in a single link cannot solve systemic problems. To remove the “big mountain” blocking the scale-up of aluminum substitution for copper, it is necessary to abandon the partial thinking of “headache medicine” and shift toward the fundamental logic innovation of integrating advanced materials, advanced processes, and ecological collaboration.

Material selection is the starting point of innovation ideas. Sun Xiaoguang said that since solving systemic problems requires starting from the root of each link, simply using traditional aluminum substitution for copper cannot address the core issues. TE chose the most difficult path: abandoning readily available 1xxx and 6xxx series aluminum materials on the market, and partnering with domestic high-end alloy material supplier Bowei Alloys to develop entirely new aluminum alloys. This new aluminum maintains stable mechanical properties at 180°C high temperatures, shows no continuous voids in creep tests, and has mechanical performance comparable to copper wire with the same current-carrying capacity.

The next step is to solve electrochemical corrosion. Sun Xiaoguang told reporters that TE offers two paths: one is the most thorough “aluminum-aluminum” connection, changing connector terminals to aluminum to eliminate contact with copper and aluminum from the source; the other is “copper-aluminum” sealed connection, using high-performance plating on the copper end and reliable sealing technology to completely isolate moisture and block corrosion conditions. Clearly, both paths leave the technical pressure originally on downstream to TE, which through complex terminal development and sealing processes provides users with “painless” alternatives.

Process issues are the final hurdle for aluminum substitution for copper. Traditional crimping processes are unsuitable for aluminum; welding can solve connection stability but industry-wide 20-30 seconds per point welding efficiency cannot meet mass production needs. To address this from the source, TE partnered with welding equipment company Shanghai Jiaocheng to reduce welding speed from unacceptable levels to under 1 second, seamlessly integrating with existing automated production lines, and thoroughly alleviating the hundreds of millions of yuan in line modification costs for wire harness factories.

Thus, a complete industry chain innovation from alloy materials, conductor wires, connectors to welding processes has formed a closed loop. It is no longer a minor structural repair but a comprehensive reengineering of the entire chain, from physical properties to manufacturing processes. As Sun Xiaoguang said, what foreign countries have not achieved in over 20 years, TE’s Chinese team achieved breakthroughs within two years, demonstrating the “China speed” of industry chain collaborative innovation.

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Breaking the Deadlock: From Risks and Challenges to Long-term Commitment

Any revolutionary technology implementation involves risks and challenges. Aluminum substitution for copper faces a historic opportunity but also stands at a critical “crossroads.”

The greatest risk comes from rushing. Faced with soaring copper prices, some companies, eager to seize market opportunities, took shortcuts—simply modifying terminal structures or adopting imperfect sealing measures—avoiding fundamental material innovation and process overhaul. Sun Xiaoguang believes that such “diseased” solutions may pass short-term validation but cannot withstand long-term use. Once mass adoption occurs, issues like disconnection or fire caused by loosening could destroy consumer and OEM trust in aluminum substitution for copper, leading to a complete negation of the technology path and catastrophic “bad money drives out good” consequences.

Second, the existing validation system does not match new technologies. Long-term reliability of aluminum requires entirely new testing methods, which take time and industry consensus. However, OEMs’ urgent cost reduction needs conflict with the necessary validation cycles. Skipping critical long-term validation for speed is akin to planting a “time bomb.”

In response to these challenges, TE remains steady, demonstrating long-term value and industry responsibility. It actively advocates for establishing high-standard aluminum substitution for copper technical standards and certification systems to distinguish truly innovative products from shoddy substitutes, guiding the industry toward healthy development. Its solutions are designed from the outset to “address the root,” refusing to compromise. Despite customer demand for rapid commercialization, TE insists on rigorous validation processes to ensure reliable mass production rather than rushing blindly.

This perseverance and problem-solving approach have garnered positive market feedback for the new aluminum substitution for copper technology. Sun Xiaoguang revealed that currently, mainstream domestic OEMs have cooperation intentions, with some entering project approval and testing phases; some leading companies have recognized the technical logic after validation; and internationally renowned automakers are paying close attention, entering technical exchanges and preliminary research stages.

Economically, based on the combined calculation of copper and aluminum prices, density, and conductivity, the material cost can be reduced to one-sixth of copper. TE estimates that after large-scale promotion, China’s automotive industry alone could reduce copper use by about 300k tons annually, and cut CO₂ emissions by 850k tons.

In fact, the value of aluminum substitution for copper extends beyond the automotive industry. Sun Xiaoguang proudly states that the underlying logic—solving corrosion and creep issues at copper-aluminum connections—can be seamlessly extended to building power distribution, home appliances, charging piles, and even motors. This means that an innovation originating in the automotive sector could generate ripple effects of cost reduction and efficiency improvement across multiple fields of the national economy.

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Collaboration: From “Involution” Cost Cutting to Industry Chain Win-Win

“Aluminum substitution for copper” — a new generation of alloy aluminum wire solutions

“Why does TE promote aluminum substitution for copper? High-quality cost reduction and efficiency enhancement are the most fundamental and powerful driving forces,” Sun Xiaoguang said. But if aluminum substitution for copper is merely seen as a successful cost-cutting case, it would overlook the deeper industry value behind it—TE’s practice precisely offers a model for avoiding “involution” cost-cutting traps and instead achieving industry chain win-win.

In Sun Xiaoguang’s view, “involution” cost reduction is like “cutting another knife” on already paper-thin profits, which only leads the upstream and downstream of the industry chain into a vicious cycle of mutual harm. The value of aluminum substitution for copper is precisely in creating a whole new incremental “cake,” preventing bottlenecks in collaboration from the source.

Regarding the cost reduction pace, TE advocates not aggressive one-time bottoming out but steady, continuous, and reasonable cost reductions. Profit recovery does not come solely from a single link but from systemic cost optimization driven by technological innovation. Specifically, cable manufacturers have reduced over-reliance on copper; equipment manufacturers have maintained efficiency through simple upgrades; vehicle manufacturers, meanwhile, have reduced weight by 10 kg per vehicle and cut costs by over 100 yuan, while also lowering exposure to international copper price fluctuations.

This is not only a “win-win” account achieved through innovation but also a deeper value—breaking the structural innovation “involution” in China’s automotive industry. In the past, many companies’ innovations remained at the structural design level, easily imitated, with no real technological moat. TE’s aluminum substitution project builds a complex barrier composed of “patents + technical know-how + ecological relationships,” which not only establishes TE as a technological leader but also drives upstream alloy material and welding equipment upgrades, as well as downstream wire harness processing. When alloy material companies like Bowei begin using AI large models for alloy design, and welding equipment firms break microsecond process bottlenecks, the entire industry’s foundational capabilities are strengthened and elevated.

The story of TE’s aluminum substitution for copper continues. Perhaps its most inspiring part is not how much copper it has saved or how much cost it has reduced, but the clear path it has forged to escape “involution” and move toward a multi-win future. In this story, TE’s role shifts from a connector supplier to a solution integrator and industry ecosystem enabler. Its “mountain-moving” hardcore innovation, achieved with partners, offers a profound lesson: in an era full of uncertainties, only through harmonious coexistence and mutual growth can we grasp a certain future.