On December 19, Jiangxi Jiangnan New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (“Jiangnan New Material”) announced that it plans to invest approximately CNY 3 billion using its own or self-raised funds to develop a high-end copper-based core materials R&D and industrialization project in the Yingtan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Jiangxi Province.
The project will cover approximately 320 mu of land and will include the construction of intelligent manufacturing facilities, the installation of advanced production equipment, and supporting infrastructure such as office buildings, R&D centers, staff dormitories and warehouses. The main products will include copper ball series products and high-precision copper-based heat sink components.
According to the company, the project is intended to further optimize its copper-based new materials portfolio, accelerate industrial upgrading, and better support its long-term growth strategy.
Rising Downstream Demand
Jiangnan New Material was listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in March this year. The company focuses on the R&D, production and sales of copper-based new materials for electronic circuits. Its core product portfolio includes three major categories: copper balls, copper oxide powders and high-precision copper-based heat sinks.
These products are widely used in PCB manufacturing, copper electroplating processes for photovoltaic cells, composite copper foil production, catalysts for organosilicon monomer synthesis, embedded PCB thermal management, power semiconductor cooling and liquid cooling systems for servers.
The company stated that its copper ball, copper oxide powder and high-precision copper-based heat sink products have already established leading positions in their respective markets. In recent years, demand for its core products has continued to rise, driven by growth in artificial intelligence, automotive electronics, high-speed optical modules and satellite communications.
In addition, rapid expansion in the new energy sector is further boosting demand for copper-based new materials. In the photovoltaic industry, rising silver paste costs are prompting manufacturers to accelerate efforts to reduce metallization costs. As copper electroplating and copper-for-silver substitution technologies mature, copper plating has emerged as a key development direction for photovoltaic cell manufacturing.
In the lithium battery sector, major battery manufacturers, equipment suppliers and materials companies have been actively promoting the adoption of composite copper foil in recent years to reduce production costs, increase energy density and improve safety performance.
“Copper oxide powder is one of the primary copper sources used in copper plating for photovoltaic cells and composite copper foil production. If these technologies achieve large-scale commercialization, demand for copper oxide powder will rise significantly,” said Zhan Junhao, founder of Fujian Huace Brand Positioning Consulting.
To address growing market demand, Jiangnan New Material plans to construct the high-end copper-based core materials R&D and industrialization project, which is expected to enhance the company’s R&D capabilities, improve automation and intelligent manufacturing levels, increase production efficiency, reduce costs and strengthen economies of scale.
Shift Toward High-End Products
Copper balls are electroplating materials that serve as anode sources, supplying copper ions to plating solutions during copper electroplating. PCB manufacturing represents the largest and most technically demanding application for copper balls, requiring fine and uniform grain size as well as evenly distributed phosphorus content to ensure stable anode film formation and uniform Cu²⁺ dissolution under consistent current and acidic conditions.
In response to rapid downstream development and rising technical requirements, Jiangnan New Material has continued to strengthen R&D and improve product performance. The company’s microcrystalline phosphorus copper balls feature a copper purity exceeding 99.93% and a grain size below 50 microns, reaching industry-leading levels. These advancements are driving improvements in production processes and technical standards across the copper ball industry, accelerating the shift toward microcrystallization and low-phosphorus formulations.
The PCB industry is also imposing higher requirements on copper oxide powder used in electroplating processes, commonly referred to as electronic-grade copper oxide powder. As high-end PCB manufacturing moves toward higher integration and performance, advanced processes such as fine-line circuitry and through-hole/blind-hole integration demand greater plating uniformity.
“Using copper oxide powder as the copper source in electroplating enables fully automated, continuous production, offering stable performance, high efficiency, environmental safety and lower emissions per unit,” a Jiangnan New Material representative said. “Our electronic-grade copper oxide powder contains over 99.3% copper oxide, exceeding industry standards, with an acid dissolution time of approximately 10 seconds, allowing rapid replenishment of copper ions while maintaining plating bath purity.”
Source： Securities Daily