Development Trends of Copper Alloy Materials for Connectors [SMM Copper Industry Conference]

On April 22, at the CCIE-2025SMM (20th) Copper Industry Conference and Copper Industry Expo—Copper Pipe & Tube Processing Industry Development Forum, hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), SMM Metal Trading Center, and Shandong Aisi Information Technology Co., Ltd., with Jiangxi Copper Corporation and Yingtan Land Port Holding Co., Ltd. as main sponsors, Shandong Humon Smelting Co., Ltd. as a special co-sponsor, and Xinhuang Group and Zhongtiaoshan Nonferrous Metals Group Co., Ltd. as co-sponsors, Zhou Mingliang, Executive Director of the Advanced Basic Materials Application Research Center of the Shenzhen Connector Industry Association, shared insights on the topic "Development Trends of Copper Alloy Materials for Connectors." What is a connector? Additionally, he elaborated on the supply chain of connectors. Major Applications of Connectors in Various End-User Industries. The explosive growth in AI computing power demand. The continuous expansion of AI application scenarios: With the advancement of AI technology, more fields are adopting AI, such as autonomous driving, medical imaging, and intelligent manufacturing, all of which require robust AI computing power. The increasing complexity of AI models: To improve the accuracy and performance of AI models, more complex models need to be trained, which directly leads to a significant increase in the demand for AI computing power. The surge in data volume: AI applications require processing vast amounts of data, and as the data volume continues to grow, so does the demand for computing power. High-speed and high-frequency trends: High-speed and high-frequency connectors are becoming the future trend, especially in 5G communication, data centers, and high-speed computing fields. Significant growth in market demand: The demand for high-speed and high-frequency connectors is significant, driven by the pursuit of extreme data transmission and stringent signal integrity requirements, making them a key force in driving digital transformation. Technological innovation driving development: Innovations in materials science and precision engineering are injecting strong momentum into high-speed and high-frequency connectors, leading the data transmission era to new heights. Expanding application fields: From high-tech electronics to healthcare, from intelligent manufacturing to smart cities, high-speed and high-frequency connectors are playing a crucial role, deeply integrating into and driving industrial upgrades and transformations across various sectors. Technological innovation directions in the server industry: High-performance computing technology: High-performance computing technology can enhance server computing performance, meet AI computing power demands, and reduce energy consumption, making it a key technological development direction in the server industry. Customization and modular design: To meet the diverse needs of different fields, customization and modular design will become important trends in the server industry, improving server flexibility and scalability. Enhanced security and reliability: With the widespread adoption of cloud computing and big data, server security and reliability issues are becoming increasingly prominent. The server industry will focus more on enhancing security and reliability in the future. Digital infrastructure: The rapid development of digital infrastructure such as 5G communication and data centers has significantly increased the demand for connectors, especially high-performance connectors that meet high-speed data transmission and strict signal integrity requirements. Connector market demand: The global connector market size is expected to reach $100 billion by 2025, with digital infrastructure being one of the main application areas, accounting for about 30% of the total. High-performance requirements: As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly complex, connectors face higher demands in high-speed data transmission and signal integrity, requiring low loss, high stability, and good signal integrity to ensure data transmission accuracy and reliability. The rise of NEVs: The booming development of NEVs has driven the application of connectors in the automotive industry, especially high-voltage and high-speed connectors, to meet the high-performance demands of battery management systems and complex in-vehicle electronic systems. Increased performance requirements: As NEVs demand more from battery management systems and complex in-vehicle electronic systems, connectors need to have higher performance, including high-voltage resistance, high-speed transmission, and strong anti-interference capabilities, to ensure the stable operation of automotive electrical systems. Market demand growth: The Chinese NEV market is booming, with sales reaching 6.887 million units in 2023, nearly doubling YoY. By 2025, sales are expected to exceed 10 million units, further driving the application of connectors in the automotive field. Battery technology: The energy density of lithium-ion batteries continues to improve, and new technologies such as solid-state batteries are emerging, significantly enhancing charging efficiency and driving range. Autonomous driving technology: Moving from assisted driving to fully autonomous driving, sensors, algorithms, and data processing capabilities have significantly improved, driving the maturity of autonomous driving technology. Vehicle connectivity and smart cabins: In-vehicle connectivity systems are becoming more intelligent, and smart cabins enable multi-screen interaction and voice control, enhancing the driving experience. Vehicle-cloud collaboration and green computing trends: Vehicle-cloud collaboration technology development: Vehicle-cloud collaboration is one of the key technologies for achieving autonomous driving, requiring efficient data interaction and computing power collaboration between vehicles and the cloud, which will drive the application of green computing technology in the server industry. Green computing reduces energy consumption: Green computing technology can reduce server energy consumption and carbon emissions, aligning with environmental protection and sustainable development requirements. Policy support and promotion: Governments worldwide are actively promoting energy-saving and emission-reduction policies, encouraging the development and application of green computing technology, which will provide policy support and market momentum for green computing in the server industry. Industrial control field: Automation and intelligent manufacturing: The demand for connectors in the industrial control field mainly focuses on automation equipment and intelligent manufacturing, with extremely high requirements for connector reliability, durability, and data transmission capabilities. Harsh environment challenges: Connectors need to have excellent weather resistance, sealing, and mechanical strength in high-temperature, high-humidity, and high-vibration environments to ensure stable equipment operation and accurate data transmission. Technological innovation and application: To meet the urgent demand for high-performance connectors in the industrial control field, connector manufacturers are increasing R&D investment, committed to developing new-generation connector products with innovative technologies and materials. Consumer electronics industry: AI smart product proliferation: The AI integration and updates of consumer electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices continue to drive the growth of connector application demand in the consumer electronics field, making it a key driver of the connector market. Increased performance requirements: As consumer expectations for electronic product quality and performance rise, the performance requirements for connectors in signal transmission, power connection, and data transmission are also increasing. Market slowdown impact: The slowdown in consumer electronics market growth has a certain impact on the connector industry. To maintain competitiveness, connector manufacturers need to continuously innovate, improve product performance, and also demand high-precision and special new materials from the copper processing industry. Intelligence and integration: Smart integration leads the trend: The wave of AI and IoT technology is driving the transformation of connectors towards intelligence and integration, indicating new directions for future technology. Smart component integration: Smart integrated connectors integrate sensors and controllers, enabling self-monitoring, self-diagnosis, and self-adaptation functions. Enhancing system reliability: Smart integrated design improves system stability and reliability through real-time monitoring and intelligent regulation. Promoting industrial upgrading: Smart integrated connectors lead industrial innovation, accelerating the transformation and upgrading from traditional manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing. Copper alloy application forecast in connectors: Overview of copper usage in the connector industry—Why use copper in connectors? Good conductivity, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, excellent mechanical properties, good processing performance, and high thermal stability. Copper alloy application examples: Connector cost breakdown (RJ45 component as an example): Depending on the type and model of the connector, copper costs account for 15-80%, with most micro connectors having copper costs around 50%. Overview of the connector market: The global connector market totaled $81.8 billion in 2023, with China being the largest manufacturing country, accounting for about 30%, and maintaining a relatively high CAGR. The corresponding copper-related cost value is about 40%, with China accounting for about 2 million mt. Opportunities—Growth forecast for major industries in the connector industry (2026F): Copper alloy material application volume: Automotive field: By 2025, the application volume of copper alloy materials in the Chinese automotive field is expected to reach about 500,000 mt, and with the expansion of the NEV market, the application volume of copper alloy materials will continue to grow. Digital infrastructure: The application volume of copper alloy materials in the digital infrastructure field is expected to reach about 1 million mt, and the application of copper alloy materials in the digital infrastructure field will continue to expand. Consumer electronics: The application volume of copper alloy materials in the consumer electronics industry is expected to remain stable at about 600,000 mt, and copper alloy materials will continue to play an important role in the consumer electronics field. He also introduced the new material trends—summary of common alloy types in connectors. Copper alloy application and technological development: Copper alloy strip application and technological development: Application fields: Widely used in key parts of automotive high-voltage connectors and battery management systems, high-speed data transmission and high-frequency connectors in digital infrastructure, and signal transmission in consumer electronics. Material optimization: Optimizing alloy composition and heat treatment processes to improve the conductivity, strength, and processability of copper alloy strips, such as using high-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys to replace traditional alloys, enhancing connector performance and reliability. Surface treatment technology: Improving corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and conductivity through surface treatment technologies such as electroplating and spraying, for example, hot-dip tin plating technology significantly enhances connector reliability and durability. Micro-processing technology: With the trend of connector miniaturization and micro-miniaturization, higher requirements are placed on the micro-processing technology of copper alloy strips, achieving micro-processing and precision manufacturing through advanced equipment and processes. Copper alloy rod and wire application and technological development: Application fields: Copper alloy rods and wires are widely used in automotive, industrial control, and other fields, used to manufacture key components such as connector contacts, pins, and transmission cables, requiring materials with high conductivity. Material innovation: Developing new copper alloy materials such as high-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys and copper-based composites to improve the performance and application range of rods and wires, such as using copper-nickel-silicon alloys to replace traditional alloys to enhance conductivity and strength. Precision processing technology: With the trend of connector miniaturization and micro-miniaturization, higher requirements are placed on the precision processing technology of copper alloy rods and wires, requiring advanced equipment and processes to achieve precision processing and micro-miniaturization manufacturing.

Environmental Protection Production: By adopting environmentally friendly materials and optimizing production processes, energy consumption and environmental pollution are reduced. For example, using lead-free and cadmium-free materials to replace traditional toxic materials enhances the environmental performance of products.

R&D and Application of High-Strength and High-Conductivity Copper Alloys

Performance Challenges: The R&D and application of high-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys face the challenge of balancing conductivity and strength. Optimizing alloy composition and heat treatment processes to enhance conductivity while ensuring strength is key to manufacturing high-performance connectors.

Alloy Optimization: Conduct in-depth research on alloy composition design and heat treatment processes for high-strength and high-conductivity copper alloys. Through experimental verification, the best alloy formula and heat treatment specifications are selected to achieve performance breakthroughs and meet high-performance demands.

Application Expansion: Strengthen the promotion and application of copper alloys, covering multiple fields such as automotive, communication, and industrial control. Leverage their high strength and high conductivity advantages to improve the durability and efficiency of connectors, driving industrial upgrading and progress.

In addition, it also briefly introduced the work directions of the Connector Industry Association and the Shenlian Association Materials Center in the field of materials.

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