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"The copper industry is already facing substitution challenges from materials like aluminium and needs to use technology to help ensure larger-scale, more permanent switches are not made, industry participants said. A group of panelists at the Metal Bulletin and American Metal Market Copper Seminar in New York on Wednesday June 6 said that while technology is clearly an opportunity for the industry, there are still some risks. According to Freeport McMoRan vp sales and marketing Steve Higgins, much of the "easy substitution" - such as plumbing tube or transformer lines - has already happened. "Substitution is less than 2% of refined demand today… It's a bit troubling, but it happens," he said. "The bigger worry is that aluminium is going to make inroads into products that have high switching costs - ACR tubing, motors, or into some medium to high voltage power cables and the like that the manufacturers have to go in and put in a lot of capital costs to convert. Once converted, switching back becomes "extraordinarily difficult," he said. "That's the biggest risk to our market as I..."

NEC Electronics America Inc. introduced to the Americas twenty-two new 16-bit All Flash microcontrollers (MCUs) for compact, low-power, battery-operated, and sensor-enabled systems. Based on NEC Electronics' high-performance 16-bit 78K0R CPU core, the new 78K0R/Kx3-L MCUs offer very low power consumption to extend battery life, and more on-chip integration to help reduce the size and cost of battery-driven and sensor-enabled systems, such as fire and security alarms, meters, industrial sensors, anti-shake digital cameras, handheld medical diagnostics devices, and data-logging and point-of-sale terminals. In addition to low power consumption, the new lineup offers high-performance on-chip oscillators, built-in circuits for sensor functions, and extended system operating time. "As environmental awareness has grown, energy-saving systems have become particularly reliant on MCU technology," said Jim Trent, Vice President, Multipurpose Microcontroller and Automotive Group, NEC Electronics America. "Over the past several years, NEC Electronics has delivered many ultra-low-power 8- and 32-bit MCUs that have met the demand for energy efficiency. With the introduction of the new 78K0R/Kx3-L devices, however, NEC Electronics is now delivering the benefits of energy efficiency in its 16-bit products."

Applied Nanotech Holdings Inc announced that its subsidiary, Applied Nanotech Inc (ANI), established a strategic development program with Optomec, Inc, a provider of printed electronics for solar, display, electronic packaging and flexible electronics applications. As a part of the commitment, ANI will install a dedicated Optomec M3D aerosol jet printer at its facilities in order to adapt its copper ink to Optomec's patented ultra high resolution printing technology. By utilizing ANI's copper ink, the Optomec printer will offer the solar, display, flexible circuit and PCB manufacturers contact-free deposition of high quality, low cost metal lines, the companies said. According to the companies, the Optomec printing solution is able to produce much finer lines than is currently possible with traditional screen printing and inkjet printing equipment. The combined ANI/Optomec copper ink printing solution will provide an alternative to silver inks facilitating lower cost, coupled with the promise of higher reliability. Furthermore, ANI's copper inks do not require expensive vacuum installation or inert gas environment lowering the cost of the capital for manufacturing equipment.

August 12, 2008 What will the electric carInnovation-At-Big-Companies Dec-07 ownership experience be like? NissanNissan Motors has given us a glimpse of what early adopters are letting themselves in for - rather than bundling expensive, consumable battery packs into the price of the car, Nissan plans to sell its 2010 mass-market battery-electric car for around the same price as a standard petrol car, and lease the battery pack to the buyer on a monthly fee. And the battery lease plus electricity charges should still end up cheaper than a petrol bill. Don't worry, it won't look anything like the test vehicle pictured! In an encouraging auto industry trend, more and more major players are committing to launching hybrid, hydrogenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen and battery-electric carsElectric car in the next few years. Nissan is the latest to outline its plans, which will include a production-model lithium-ion plug-in electric car by 2010. There's also a clever high-tech hybrid on the way, and Nissan has also announced a cheaper way of building a high-power density hydrogen fuelGM-Coskata-Alternative-Fuels cell stack. But it's the imminent battery-electric vehicle (BEV) that offers the most immediate chance for car buyers to get away from gas stationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filling_station and look into green motoring. And while no details have yet been officially released about range, charging time, body shape or power, Nissan has clarified that its first mass-market BEV will use a lithium-ion battery pack from partner AESC - an expensive option, but the cost (and eventual replacement cost) will be spread out over a lease plan.

A U.S. government official said dramatic improvements to lithium batteries are needed before they can efficiently power vehicles. Experts believe lithium-ion batteries are widely predicted to replace nickel metal-hydride batteries currently used in most hybrid vehicles like Toyota Co's popular Prius. The biggest challenges are extending the life of high-power lithium batteries and bringing down their relatively high cost, Tien Duong of the U.S. Department of Energy said on the sidelines of a lithium battery conference held at this government laboratory. "Life means 10 years, plus. For hybrids we know (their batteries) last 10 years plus. For the PHEV (plug-in electric vehicle), we don't know," Duong said. He did not specify what the costs should be. "One of the phenomenons that cuts short the life of the battery is power. You may have a lot of energy, but if you run out of power, that's no good," he said.

Range Fuels, Inc., a company focused on green energy and the production of cellulosic ethanol, announced today that it is collaborating with Ceres, Inc., a leading company in the research, development and commercialization of purpose-grown herbaceous biomass feedstocks. Range Fuels will explore the role that non-invasive, high-yield, non-food sources of biomass might play in Range Fuels' plans to produce cellulosic ethanol on a commercial basis. Ceres is primarily focused on the development of annual and perennial grasses, such as high-biomass sorghum, switchgrass and miscanthus.

Nano-graphene platelets (NGPs) have high Young's modulus, high thermal conductivity (five times that of copper), electrical conductivity similar to copper, and are said to be 50 times stronger than steel.\n

Nexans and Bruker HTS announced that a high temperature superconducting distribution level cable project has been successfully completed. The project, called Super 3C, commenced in June 2004 and was finalised in December 2008. It was financed by the European Union and the investment amounted to 5.2 million euros. The cable achieves power transmission of 17 megawatts and it features second generation high temperature superconducting tapes.

U.K. stocks climbed, extending a two-month high, as banks and commodity producers rallied. Kazakhmys jumped 5.8 percent to 540.5 pence. Separately, copper futures advanced...

Prysmian SpA, the Italian cable maker, has announced consolidated sales results for Q1 2009. Sales amounted to EURO 926 million, a decrease of 11.5% compared with the same period in 2008. Net profit was EURO 91 million, down by 11.1% y-o-y. The company attributed this decline to the economic downturn, already evident in Q4 2008. In response to this, Prysmian is focusing on higher value-added activities and high-tech market segments. The company said that it managed to achieve satisfactory profits supported by the growth of sales in the sectors of high voltage underground and submarine cables along with industrial cables such as those for oil& gas, renewable energy and infrastructure.

Elektrokoppar said that payment terms with end-users need to be shortened due to record high copper prices. The Swedish copper wirerod producer commented that fabricators cannot act as bankers and have to shorten payment terms by nearly 50% compared to last year. The company decided to reduce production of copper wirerod by 20% from 2010 in order to cut the stock level needed to be financed. The main wirerod mill operations have gone down from four shifts to three. At the current copper price levels, Elektrokoppar decided to cover the north European market than selling to other markets with high freight rates and high financing costs.

Anhui Jingcheng Copper Share Co. Ltd. announced on 23rd August that the commissioning of its 30,000t/y high precision copper strip project will be suspended until 31st December 2011. The project was originally intended as a high precision copper alloy operation with a production capacity of 20,000t/y, but in May 2009 plans were revised to develop a 30,000t/y high precision copper strip project at an investment cost of RMB495M.

"He concludes that standard macroeconomic factors alone (growth, interest rates, global growth, and global financial market volatility) fail to fully explain the recent investment deceleration. He further concludes that while the importance of structural factors in explaining the recent weakening of aggregate investment is not entirely clear, at the micro level, panel data analysis suggests that improving the business environment by reducing costs of doing business, deepening the financial system, and developing infrastructure, could stimulate corporate investment." The IMF's (2013a) recent staff report on India argues that several causes of weaker growth seem to be of a supply-side nature. The following key factors are listed as possible contributors to the recent investment slowdown: Rising policy uncertainty. In particular, high profile tax policy decisions announced in the 2012/13 Budget have reduced foreign investors' interest in India, while the increasing difficulty of obtaining land use and environmental permits have raised regulatory uncertainty for infrastructure and other large-scale projects. Delayed project approvals and implementation. As a reaction to high-profile governance scandals, project approvals, clearances, and implementation have slowed sharply. Supply bottlenecks are particularly pronounced in mining and power, with attendant consequences for the broader economy, especially manufacturing.

"They are used in equipment that operate in elevated ambient temperatures and/or with high currents, such as datacom equipment, where increased power and decreased size are trending, as well as portable industrial equipment such as heating systems. "

"General Cable's STABILOY® and NUAL® Brand aluminum alloy building wire offering consists of the following: STABILOY® Brand of Service Entrance Cables (SER/SEU) and non-residential cables including Metal Clad (MC), FeederPlex HS® (High Speed) XHHW-2, and WIDESTRIPE HS® (High Speed) XHHW-2 for the U.S. market. The NUAL® Brand of aluminum alloy building wire offers similar cable constructions of AC90, FeederPlex HS® RW90, WIDESTRIPE® RW90, TECK 90 for the Canadian market. "

"In the first of a series of exclusive articles, James Gordon explores the latest developments in V2G systems and asks if the technology has the power to reshape global electricity distribution networks.…. It is the world's largest consumer of energy(1), and with over half of China's 1.3 billion population choosing to live in its sprawling and gridlocked super-cities, the demand for power has never been greater. But ensuring that the 680 million who live in China's megalopolises receive a steady stream of electricity is no easy task. However, while the solution - to install a network of long distance super-grids - has proved to be effective, it has come at great cost. This highly innovative smart grid infrastructure that the State Grid Corporation of China, has been specially designed to transmit ultra-high-voltage-direct-current (UHVDC) at over 600,000 volts to China's main population centres from rural areas rich in energy(2). America, India, Germany and Brazil are also incorporating UHDVC lines into their grids, but Britain, whose population is expected to grow from 64,875,165 (2015) to 77,568,588 by 2050(3), is only in the early stages of exploring the potential of the technology according to the Energy Networks Association. And while the UK's Utility giants may yet decide to invest billions of pounds in these high-tech super grids, a fully functioning next-generation Battery Electric Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charging system, located in Birmingham, the UK's second city, may mean they never need to. But how could this potentially game-changing technology, which has been installed at Aston University's European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI), one day save the National Grid and the tax-payer billions of pounds?"

HL Technology, a listed Chinese producer of wire and cables, announced on 20th November that it plans to sell its 55% stake in Tianjin Rituo Automotive Electronics to Wang Xiang, for RMB58.6M (US$9.3M), stating that the venture had not been as profitable as expected. The company also announced it is acquiring the entire equity in a separate company, Rituo High Technology, from Rituo Automotive Electronics for RMB15M (US$2.4M). Rituo High Technology researches, designs and manufactures wiring harness components such as the wires used for signal transmission. By purchasing Rituo High Technology, HL Technology said it hopes to develop its own wholly owned subsidiary in the wiring harness sector.

Hikvision TURBO HDTVI 24IR Dome security Camera available on 52% discount offer with HD Video Output 720P High Resolution 24IR Dome Camera 1Pcs 3.6 mm Fixed Lens 2 Year Domestic Warranty

Hikvision TURBO HDTVI 24IR Dome security Camera available on 52% discount offer with HD Video Output 720P High Resolution 24IR Dome Camera 1Pcs 3.6 mm Fixed Lens 2 Year Domestic Warranty