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Super strong nanometals - a Chinese-Danish success Research shows that it is possible to produce copper about 4 times stronger than commercial material - and doing so while also having a ductile material. As the thermal and electrical conductivity are also good, the manufacturing of, for example, electrical conductors with improved mechanical properties looks promising

A pilot programme launched by the International Copper Association (ICA) and copper miner Codelco has tested the use of copper cages in salmon farming. According to a joint statement of the two organisations, it was the first time that about 60,000 salmon were harvested in copper cages. The programme was part of a wider plan of the two organisations which looks for new markets for copper. Codelco said that the use of copper benefits salmon farming because of its antimicrobial properties. The programme showed that there was a decrease in salmon mortality and better oxygenation in specimens.

Over the past six weeks, executives have become markedly more optimistic about current economic conditions and prospects for their national economies, a new McKinsey survey shows. Expectations started out so gloomy, however, that even now, fewer than a third expect an economic upturn this year, and two-thirds expect their nations' GDPs to decrease in 2009.\n\nSimilarly, at the company level, more executives still expect to shed workers than to hire, but the share expecting to decrease the workforce has fallen below half for the first time since January. And a full third of respondents now expect profits to increase in 2009, up 8 percent in six weeks. Furthermore, even though respondents see fallout from the crisis in a variety of financial and nonfinancial measures such as employee morale and the pace of innovation, strong majorities expect those effects to be short-lived.

Recent research into the properties of graphene nanoribbons provides two new reasons for using the material as interconnects in future computer chips. In widths as narrow as 16 nanometers, graphene has a current carrying capacity approximately a thousand times greater than copper - while providing improved thermal conductivity.

The benefits for the market are obvious. Regional, ownership unbundled transmission/ infrastructure companies have a natural incentive to maximise the offering of capacity to the market, as this is the sole mechanism through which they achieve their revenues. They will be happy to invest to meet market demand. With their large scale and regional approach they can pass through the benefits of synergies and eliminate unnecessary interfaces. Finally, as they do not have any potential conflict of interest with supply or production interests, regulation can be lighter, decreasing the regulatory and administrative burden and increasing efficiency even further. Time will tell, but it seems that the ITO option has its greatest potential for those companies that can not afford to sell their transmission networks under the current economic conditions or that are opportunity constrained and have no suitable investment potential. In any event, the conclusion must be that, whereas full ownership unbundling has not been directly achieved through the Third Package, it would appear that the scene has been set for a market structure that will move gradually but inevitably into the direction originally envisaged in the Commission proposals. So was it worth it? For you to judge.

Energy-efficient machine tools help to reduce operating costs for users and increase productivity. Investments in new machinery and equipment must make financial sense for the future. At the same time, it must be possible to operate machines efficiently and adapt them flexibly to meet new product requirements. This is what users are looking for in new machines. A central component of efficient machine operation is end-to-end management of energy requirements and usage.

IF YOU want to save money, cut the cord. In these difficult times ever more Americans are heeding this advice and dropping their telephone landlines in favour of mobile phones (see article). Despite some of the flakiest mobile-network coverage in the developed world, one in four households has now gone mobile-only. At current rates the last landline in America will be disconnected sometime in 2025.

The technology is capable of carrying 10 times as much power as copper wires of the same size, while also being able to automatically adapt to power surges and disruptions from lightning strikes, heat waves, and traffic accidents, even sabotage. A single superconductor cable can replace 12 copper cable bundles, freeing up more space underground for other utility needs like water, natural gas, or phone service.

While older municipalities across Canada are busy replacing lead distribution water supply pipes that have been in the ground since the last century, others are having to replace pipes made of polybutylene (PB) that were installed as recently as 25 years ago. The polybutylene plastic service pipes were installed in the 1970s and 1980s to connect street mains to the home as a cheaper alternative to copper piping. However, the polybutylene pipes were subject to collapse, and over time have become brittle, are cracking and leaking water.

Economic Growth, The Financial Crisis, and Peak Oil For several years, a swelling subculture of commentators (which includes the present author) has been forecasting a financial crash, basing this prognosis on the assessment that global oil production was about to peak. (2) Our reasoning went like this: Continual increases in population and consumption cannot continue forever on a finite planet. This is an axiomatic observation with which everyone familiar with the mathematics of compounded arithmetic growth must agree, even if they hedge their agreement with vague references to "substitutability" and "demographic transitions." (3) This axiomatic limit to growth means that the rapid expansion in both population and per-capita consumption of resources that has occurred over the past century or two must cease at some particular time. But when is this likely to occur? The unfairly maligned Limits to Growth studies, published first in 1972 with periodic updates since, have attempted to answer the question with analysis of resource availability and depletion, and multiple scenarios for future population growth and consumption rates. The most pessimistic scenario in 1972 suggested an end of world economic growth around 2015. (4)

The Japan Copper and Brass Association said that rolled copper products output declined for the first time in 15 months in January from a year earlier. It was commented that demand from the electronics sector, such as semiconductor and TV set makers, was weak, however, a gradual recovery is expected. Output contracted by 1.3% y-o-y to 70,339t in January 2011 but was up by 1.4% from December 2010. It is anticipated that output will recover in March, even though the speed of improvement is slower than expected.

"The installed capacity of small plants, called Small Hydropower Plans (SHP) increased almost three times between 2003 and 2010. In 2003, the power of these enterprises, each of which varies from 10 to 30 MW, totaled 1,151 MW, compared with 3,428.31 megawatts (MW) in 2010. The involvement of SHP in the energy matrix increased from 1.22% to 3.05% in the same period and the number of plants rose from 241 to 387 enterprises. Only in 2010, 32 small power plants came into operation, with total capacity of 470.67 MW. "

"Spanish energy company Iberdrola is to invest €365m to grow in Mexico's booming wind-power market at a time when other international firms are also rushing to muscle in Latin America's second-largest economy"

It was reported that Furukawa Electric plans to bring forward its capacity expansion plans for electrolytic copper foil due to steady demand from lithium ion battery makers, especially for electric vehicles. The company had previously announced that domestic capacity would expand from 550t/m to 1,000t/m in March 2012. However, supported by increasing demand from EV battery makers, Furukawa will put the time schedule ahead to December 2011. In addition, the company is planning to accelerate the time schedule for its new electrolytic copper foil plant in Taiwan, which was originally due to commence operations in September 2012.

Mexico, one of the leading suppliers of oil to the United States, has increasingly embraced alternative energy in the face of dwindling crude output, infrastructure and investment. In response to energy and economic woes, President Felipe Calderón has pushed through energy reforms, pledging that Mexico will be producing a minimum of 2,500 megawatts of wind capacity by the time his term ends in 2012. So far, Mexico's progress has been impressive. In 2005, the nation only produced 3 megawatts electricity from wind. By the end of 2010, the country had 519 megawatts of installed wind power. And the future prospects look promising.

"BHP warns over sustainability of demand for raw materials BHP Billiton, the miner that sells 19 different commodities from...materials had returned.In its quarterly production report, BHP noted that China, the driver of the rally in metals prices...offset this, such a sequence of events should not be expected, BHP said.It added: "In spite of the low metals inventories in... Oct 22 2009, By William MacNamara in London and Peter Smith in Sydney, Financial Times"

Luvata officially opened its first copper tube plant in Mexico, aiming to fabricate tubes for the HVACR industry. The company sees the current downturn in the commercial tube market as a convenient time to establish its position in the marketplace and be ready when the market picks up. The Monterrey-based plant has started with small but steady deliveries since mid-June. Currently, the plant employs 180 staff with the plan to raise workforce to 250 when the full capacity level of 2,500t per month is reached in H1 2010. Luvata aims to supply several major clients but also expand its clientele to new and smaller Mexican customers. The company intends to differentiate itself by offering just-in-time deliveries, enabling its clients to run reduced inventory levels.

"Recently, carbon-free copper smelting technology, a technology with full independent intellectual property rights, has passed expert examination organized by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) in Dongying, Shandong province. It is the first time zero-carbon emissions in the copper melting process has been realized and also opens a new gate for low-carbon development of China's nonferrous metals industry."