(11/16/2016) Copper is one of the main allies of the auto industry when it comes to energy efficiency. The excellent metal capacity to transport electrical current helps to reduce energy consumption, improving system performance and, consequently, reducing CO2 emissions. In addition, the copper properties contribute to the miniaturization of parts, paving the way for new solutions and technologies. For all these reasons, the use of copper by the mobility industry is quite broad: a vehicle can have up to 28 kg of metal, as well as a high speed train arrives to receive 20 tons of copper distributed in thousands of components.

Paranapanema, largest non-integrated Brazilian producer of refined copper and copper products, is one of the major suppliers of metal to the national auto industry. The main advantages of using copper in vehicles is the greater efficiency in thermal exchanges and electrical conductivity, in addition to superior properties of conformation and resistance to corrosion in front of other materials.

Sole electrolytic copper manufacturer in Brazil, Paranapanema provides the rods and drawn wires of Caraíba brand and laminates from the Eluma brand for several manufacturers of automotive components. The rods and drawn products are raw materials for most of the electrical and heat exchange systems of vehicles, while the laminates are inputs used on the ends of the wires that make up the electrical systems.

“We provide copper for the largest manufacturers of automotive components of Brazil, besides, we also serve auto parts industry installed in neighboring countries, such as Paraguay and Argentina”, says Ruy Alvarenga, Paranapanema’s Commercial Manager. “The metal is a natural choice of industry due to its high electric conductivity”, he says.

The high conductivity of the material is important to maintain the efficiency of the devices used by the automotive industry, such as systems for electrical transmission, heating and cooling of the vehicles, as in air conditioners. On-board computer, electronic panels, coded keys, electronic injection, among other items constituting the electric vehicle architecture, feature superior performance if they are manufactured with copper. “Mainly in automotive application, which uses less metal, in smaller spaces, a malleable material, noble and good conductivity is a fundamental point”, emphasizes Alvarenga.

The electrolytic copper, with 99.99% purity, has improved efficiency of conductivity between metal offered for this function on the market and, therefore, is the most suitable for the automotive segment. Paranapanema manufactures this type of copper through the industrial process of electrolysis, in its plant in Dias d’Ávila (BA). This process enables high-precision separation of copper ions from other materials, to reach a point that is considered the superpure copper.

The amount of copper used depends on the complexity of automotive models. Popular vehicles, which have fewer electrical and electronic features, have from 6kg to 8kg of embedded copper. However, the most luxurious vehicles, which rely on more automated features, contains from 12kg to 15kg of metal, on average.