The properties and price of aluminium compare favourably against copper for applications in the wire and cable industry. In a sector worth over 69 billion euros annually there are a number of key market issues for the downstream aluminium processors. By 2020, power capacity equivalent to 42% of the EU's current capacity needs to be built. Aluminium wire has been successful in power transmission grid applications for over a hundred years. It is the more flexible and lightweight material for overhead lines and pole-top transformers. Aluminium power cables amounted to nearly 1.5 of the 14.4 million tonnes of metallic wire and cable conductors produced globally in 2007. The EU25 produced 0.4 million tonnes of aluminium wirerod that year. Pacesetter China ramped up its aluminium power conductor manufacture by 21 % in 2009.
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