China to Substitute Copper Alloy for Silver AlloyA copper alloy will become a substitute for silver alloy in industrial sectors, as China is using the technology in a high-tech demonstration project for industrial production.The technology developed by the Harbin Industries University and the Harbin Dongda Electrified Co., Ltd. uses copper as a matrix to synthesize an alloy, which can replace silver in such industrial sectors as electrified machinery, railway building, car and house-appliance manufacture. China has the full intellectual right for the technology. Experts here expect it to have vast market potential. Silver used to be considered the key component in producing electrical principal parts such as contacts used on low-voltage electrical appliances. The silver alloy, which contains cadmium, can drive prices up and create pollution. The cheaper copper substitute, however, is an environmentally-friendly product. So far, 80 percent of industrial-oriented silver consumption in China depends on imports. The new technology will help reduce the amount of imports. Dongda, the co-developer of the technology, has a capacity of producing 50 tons of the copper alloy a year, which were supplied to several electrical appliance and railway-building companies. With the state's approval of enlisting the technology into the demonstration production project, the company's annual output of the new industrial material will be lifted to 700 tons. |
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