Transportation Issues at Alashankou Port Affected Copper Cathode Output

GE Vernova introduced its medium-voltage uninterruptible power supply (MV-UPS) on August 24 in Paris, designed to keep AI data centres, AI factories and other energy-intensive facilities running on stable, continuous power. Installed on the medium-voltage network, the system combines power conversion, advanced controls and integrated energy storage to protect larger blocks of critical load while buffering sudden demand changes from propagating back to the grid or on-site generation. Shipments are expected to begin in mid-2027, with the first project energisation targeted for late 2027.

Prysmian is investing over US$1 billion to expand manufacturing capacity across three US states: Claremont NC US$1.02 billion, Jackson TN US$100 million, and Lexington SC US$80 million, creating 600 jobs. The company also signed a EUR 6.29 billion fibre supply agreement with Molex. The Claremont facility is Prysmian's core North American submarine and terrestrial cable base. The expansion will significantly boost high-voltage cable capacity, directly driving copper conductor drawing and stranding demand.

South Korean cable and power equipment makers are competing for European HVDC projects at CIGRE 2026 in Paris. LS Cable secured approximately 234 billion won in contracts for KEPCO HVDC projects and is supplying 525kV submarine and underground cables to TenneT's North Sea offshore wind project. Taihan Cable unveiled South Korea's first 500kV current-source HVDC cable system and a 525kV voltage-source HVDC land cable system. Hyosung Heavy Industries launched a 420kV SF6-free GIS, with H1 new orders reaching 7.5 trillion won and annual target raised to 12 trillion won. Iljin won an 84.5 billion won ultra-high-voltage contract in the UK in July.