After reaching a historic high in 2025, domestic copper prices continued to rise in January 2026, with significant year-on-year and month on month increases. At the beginning of February, it was fluctuating at a high level. Industry insiders say that the recent rise in copper prices is due to the combined effects of supply disruptions, demand growth, and policy expectations. On the supply side, global copper mines are facing long-term constraints from multiple factors such as declining resource quality, rising mining costs, and increased supply vulnerability. The reporter learned from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association that the global copper ore grade has decreased from 1.3% in 2005 to 0.65% in 2025, and the mining cost in 2025 will increase by more than 40% compared to 2015. On the demand side, "green energy" and "artificial intelligence" have become important growth engines for copper consumption. According to Wande data, the copper consumption of an ordinary new energy vehicle is 3 to 5 times that of a traditional fuel vehicle, driving demand increments of hundreds of thousands of tons; The copper density of artificial intelligence data centers is also much higher than that of traditional data centers. The explosive demand for computing power and the construction of supporting power systems have driven a surge in demand for high-purity copper foil, precision copper cables and other products... The global liquidity and geopolitical environment also provide suitable soil for the rise in copper prices. Since the beginning of 2026, the global liquidity has been abundant, the equity market has strengthened, and coupled with the warming of the precious metal market, they have jointly promoted the upward trend of copper prices, "said Chen Xuesen, Vice President of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association. The rise in copper prices has brought cost pressure to downstream enterprises. In daily life, copper is present in everything from faucets and door and window handles to refrigerators and air conditioners; In factories, copper is an important raw material for cable production, energy storage battery manufacturing, etc. In December last year, Anhui Meibo Intelligent Electric Appliance Group Co., Ltd., General Air Conditioning (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. and other enterprises issued price adjustment notices, and the rise in copper prices was listed as an important reason. Cultivating technical skills and upgrading 'internal strength' is the way for some enterprises to break through. Through the optimization of structural design and the application of advanced technologies such as AI dynamic energy-saving technology, we have gained the ability to resist risks while improving cooling and heating efficiency without increasing the use of raw materials. ”Gree Electric Vice President Zhu Lei said. Industry enterprises are accelerating their innovation breakthroughs. Nord Corporation mass produces 3-micron ultra-thin lithium battery copper foil, reducing the volume of copper foil by 10%; Jintian Copper Industry has systematically upgraded its recycled copper process, stabilizing the purity of refined copper at 99.99% to meet the strict requirements of the high-tech industry for raw material purity. In the long run, whether it is intelligent mining and low-grade utilization in mines, comprehensive recovery in smelting, or high-end material research and development in processing enterprises, technological innovation is the main way to cope with cost pressure and obtain excess profits. ”Hu Haibin, Chief Analyst of Jiangxi Copper Futures Department, said. Against the backdrop of high copper prices, "saving copper with aluminum" has become an important exploration path. Aluminum saving copper "refers to the material application strategy of saving copper resources and ensuring supply chain security through the research and development of aluminum alloy cables, copper aluminum composite conductive bars and other products in the fields of power, home appliances, automobiles, etc., while ensuring performance. In March 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and ten other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for High Quality Development of Aluminum Industry (2025-2027)", which listed "aluminum conductor cables and copper aluminum composite materials for photovoltaic and wind power plants" and "aluminum tubes for refrigerator and air conditioning heat exchangers" as key expansion directions. 'Using aluminum to save copper' does not mean 'cutting corners'. ”Chen Xuesen said that it is not a simple material replacement, but rather a technological innovation to make up for the performance shortcomings of aluminum. Copper aluminum composite materials combine the excellent conductivity of copper with the lightweight characteristics and cost advantages of aluminum, and have been applied in fields such as new energy, power cables, and household appliances. The exploration of "using aluminum to save copper" in some fields has achieved results. The reporter learned from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association that the copper consumption for air conditioning has decreased from 12 kilograms per unit in 2000 to 4 kilograms per unit currently; The copper consumption of new energy vehicles has decreased from an initial average of 80 kilograms per vehicle to the current 60 kilograms per vehicle. State Grid has also achieved application access for copper aluminum composite materials. According to industry experts' predictions, the average copper consumption per unit of distribution network equipment will decrease by 65% in the next three years, and the average copper consumption per complete set of switchgear will decrease from 200 kilograms per unit to 70 kilograms per unit. The reporter learned that the value of copper aluminum composite materials is no longer limited to "reducing costs and saving copper". On the one hand, the application of high-quality copper aluminum composite materials has green value, and the energy consumption of aluminum recycling is only 5% of that of primary aluminum, which is lower than the energy consumption of copper recycling; On the other hand, it is more related to industrial security and international competitiveness. The application and promotion of material substitution technologies such as' saving copper with aluminum 'have further strengthened the resource conservation effect. This structural change means that China's dependence on imported copper raw materials, especially copper concentrates, will change. ”Chen Xuesen said. (New Society)