China's crude copper industry

The integration of China's crude copper industry and energy storage industry is deeply embedded in the 'electric thermal control' core architecture of lithium battery energy storage systems, with high-purity cathode copper as the link. Coarse copper is refined by electrolysis into cathode copper with a purity of ≥ 99.99%, becoming the only basic raw material for energy storage copper bars, ultra-thin electrolytic copper foils (6-8 μ m mainstream), and connectors. The copper consumption of a single GWh energy storage system reaches 100 tons, and it is expected that China's energy storage copper consumption will exceed 120000 tons by 2025, with an annual growth rate of over 25%, accounting for more than 15% of the total copper consumption increment. Upstream enterprises such as Jiangxi Copper Industry and Yunnan Copper Industry have established long-term cooperative supply mechanisms with CATL and BYD to jointly promote the industrialization of ultra-thin (≤ 4.5 μ m) and composite copper foil, supporting the dual improvement of battery energy density and safety performance. The national 'Implementation Plan for High Quality Development of Copper Industry (2025-2027)' includes copper concentrate in strategic reserves, and GB38031-2025 requires a 24-hour delay in thermal runaway, forcing copper materials with low resistance and high thermal conductivity to become essential for system design. The recycling rate of recycled copper has reached 98% (according to the standards of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology), forming a closed loop of 'battery recycling recycled copper' to alleviate the dependence on raw materials from external sources. Under the dual wheel drive of AI data centers and new energy storage, China has contributed over 40% of the global increase in copper demand, and the industry is moving from 'raw material supply' to 'material standard output'.