Against the backdrop of the recent public opinion storm in the air conditioning industry regarding the “aluminum instead of copper” technology route, authoritative institutions in the industry have finally spoken out and set the tone.
On April 23rd, the Aluminum Reinforcement Application Research Working Group of the Low Temperature Biomedical Professional Committee of the Chinese Refrigeration Society (hereinafter referred to as the “Working Group”) officially clarified the nature, goals, and future plans of the organization through the official WeChat account of the China Household Appliances Research Institute, aiming to quell irrational market debates and bring the industry back to the track of “standard first” development.
The release of this statement comes at a time when leading companies such as Gree and Hisense are engaged in fierce public opinion battles over “real copper materials” and “aluminum application technology”. The working group clearly stated in the statement that it was officially established in July 2024 as a cross industry, non-profit technical organization that combines air conditioning units, core components, aluminum processing backbone enterprises, and research institutes. At present, the number of members has expanded to 21. This statement is actually an official revision and expansion of recent online statements about “19 companies forming an alliance”, demonstrating the further growth of industry technology alliances.
The core signals of the statement lie in “national strategy” and “standard construction”. The working group emphasized that its work has always closely followed the “Implementation Plan for High Quality Development of Aluminum Industry (2025-2027)” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other ten departments. This marks that the material technology innovation in the air conditioning industry is no longer simply a cost reduction behavior for enterprises, but has risen to the level of ensuring the safety of the industrial chain and responding to the national “aluminum and copper saving” strategy.
The working group has revealed substantial progress in addressing the current lack of a unified standard in the industry. Since its establishment, the working group has organized 6 technical exchanges and research seminars, and established a deep cooperation platform between the whole machine factory and aluminum processing enterprises. For the most concerning issue of product reliability to the outside world, the working group has provided a clear solution: in the future, we will continue to improve the standard system construction, compile the “White Paper on Aluminum Application in China’s Air Conditioning Industry (Second Edition)”, and carry out empirical experiments on related air conditioning products. This means that the controversy over the corrosion resistance and lifespan of aluminum heat exchangers will no longer remain at the level of verbal warfare, but will be resolved through scientific empirical data.
The release of this statement has pressed the “calm button” for the recent heated debate over technological routes. It conveys a clear message to the market: the application of aluminum reinforcement is an inevitable trend in the technological evolution of the industry, but it must be based on a rigorous standard system and scientific verification. For consumers, future purchases will no longer be misled by one-sided marketing tactics, but will be based on evidence; For enterprises, only by investing in technological innovation and standard building can they stand undefeated in the wave of high-quality development of green and low-carbon.
Post time: Apr-23-2026