Copper is the main excellent metal in terms of electrical conductivity, but it is not the only solution for energy transfer.
The price of copper is soaring, and when the demand caused by the economic recovery loses momentum, the energy transition is bound to take the baton, and the demand for copper seems endless.
Although the electrical conductivity of aluminum is about 40% lower than that of copper, it does have attractive properties, and its density is only 30% of that of copper. Cymbal
This means that the aluminum cable with the same conductivity is about 52% of the weight of the copper cable, which provides operability and installation advantages.
Julian Keitel (Julian Kettle), senior vice president of Wood Mackenzie, said that too many forecasts ignore the fact that aluminum is an important competitor to copper in many high-volume applications, including high-voltage power cables, busbars, transformer windings and motor windings. In fact, given its lower costs, aluminium will outperform copper at almost any realistic long-term price. It is only at extremely high carbon tax levels that aluminum's marginal higher carbon tax footprint will cause copper to become competitive at historically high prices.
