Aluminum Alloys: The “Lightweight Backbone” Supporting China’s Aerospace Industry

In May 2026, with the successful launch of the Tianzhou‑10 cargo spacecraft, the mass delivery of the C919 large aircraft, and the AG600 amphibious plane entering mass production, China’s aerospace industry is poised to reach a new peak of development. Along this journey “to the skies,” aluminum alloys, as critical structural materials, have emerged as the “invisible backbone” enabling the nation’s major aerospace systems to soar, thanks to their lightweight yet high‑strength, corrosion‑resistant, and temperature‑tolerant properties. From Southwest Aluminum’s 7050 aluminum alloy pre‑stretched thick plate breaking foreign monopolies, to the ultra‑high‑strength aluminum alloy developed by Beijing University of Science and Technology helping reduce the Tianzhou‑10’s weight by 30%, China’s aluminum alloy industry is driving domestic substitution through technological innovation, writing a new chapter in high‑end manufacturing.

Technological Breakthrough: From “Bottleneck” to “Leader”
The aerospace sector imposes nearly stringent requirements on materials: they must withstand extreme temperature differentials, severe vibration, and highly corrosive environments, while also achieving lightweighting to reduce energy consumption. For a long time, advanced aluminum alloy technologies were monopolized by a handful of industrial powerhouses, leaving domestic enterprises in the predicament of having no viable materials available.

The turning point came in 2018. Southwest Aluminum, in collaboration with university research teams, spent several years overcoming formidable challenges—including the preparation of large‑size ingots and high‑deformation rolling—and successfully developed a 7050 aluminum alloy pre‑stretched thick plate. This material boasts a strength exceeding 500 MPa while combining exceptional toughness and fatigue resistance, making it the “skeleton” for critical components such as the C919’s wing spars and fuselage frames. In April 2018, COMAC awarded Southwest Aluminum an engineering approval certificate, marking the first-ever domestic breakthrough in aluminum alloys for large commercial aircraft. To date, Southwest Aluminum has supplied over 600 tons of high‑performance aluminum alloy materials to the C919, covering 13 key structural components.

The pace of technological breakthroughs has never slowed. In May 2026, an ultra-high-strength aluminum alloy developed by the team of Academician Xie Jianxin at Beijing University of Science and Technology was deployed in critical support structures of the Tianzhou‑10 cargo spacecraft. By leveraging machine learning to optimize alloy composition, the team overcame the challenge of plastic forming large‑scale components, achieving a weight reduction of more than 30% and significantly enhancing payload efficiency. Meanwhile, Nannan Aluminum Processing supplied 4‑meter‑wide, extra‑wide aluminum alloy plates for the oxygen tanks of commercial aerospace launch vehicles with large diameters, mastering core technologies such as the preparation of high‑purity, low‑hydrogen ingots and temperature‑controlled rolling of ultra‑wide sheets, with a first‑pass yield that ranks among the industry’s highest.

Application Expansion: “End-to-End Coverage” from Aircraft to Rockets
The application scope of aluminum alloys continues to expand with advances in technology. In the aerospace sector, 7000-series aluminum–zinc alloys, such as 7075, are widely used for load-bearing components like aircraft landing gear and joints due to their high strength; meanwhile, 5000-series aluminum–magnesium alloys, prized for their excellent corrosion resistance, serve as ideal materials for aircraft fuel tanks and fuel lines. Taking the C919 as an example, aluminum alloys account for 70% of its total material usage, spanning key structural elements such as the wings, fuselage, and flight control systems.

The aerospace sector imposes even more stringent material requirements. Components such as the fuel tanks of the Long March series rockets, structural parts of the Tianwen Mars probe, and the pressurized cabin of the Shenzhou spacecraft all utilize specialized aluminum alloys to withstand extreme environmental conditions. In 2026, Guangdong Hua’ao Alloy’s ultra‑pure refining technology for high‑temperature alloys was successfully deployed in both aeroengine manufacturing and medical artificial joint applications, achieving independent control over critical materials. Moreover, its 3D‑printing powder reclamation and purification process has helped customers cut costs by 40%, driving the aerospace manufacturing industry toward greener practices.

Industrial Upgrading: A Leap from “Keeping Pace” to “Running Alongside”
The rise of China’s aluminum alloy industry has been driven by both policy guidance and corporate innovation. In 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with nine other departments, jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Aluminum Industry,” explicitly supporting R&D of high-end aluminum materials needed for aerospace and new-energy vehicles, and promoting the sector’s transition toward higher value-added and intelligent manufacturing. Against this backdrop, leading enterprises such as Chinalco, Nanshan Aluminum, and Xinbiao Aluminum have accelerated their strategic deployments:
- **Chinalco Group**: Its subsidiaries, including Southwest Aluminum and Dongqing, focus on the aerospace sector and undertake critical national strategic material‑supply missions. Their products are used in components such as the C919’s wing panels and the fuel tanks of Long March rockets.
- **Nanshan Aluminum**: Certified by Boeing and Airbus, it has become a supplier to automakers such as NIO and BMW, achieving breakthroughs in both automotive‑grade and aerospace‑grade aluminum sheet technologies.
- **Xinbiao Aluminum**: Transitioning from architectural aluminum to high-end manufacturing, the company leverages its intelligent production base to supply lightweight aluminum materials for new-energy vehicle thermal management systems and 5G communication equipment.

According to statistics, China’s aerospace aluminum alloy market is projected to grow from US$2 billion in 2021 to US$3 billion by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%. Behind this expansion lies the confidence of domestic aluminum producers as they transition from “replacing imports” to “going global”: Mingtai Aluminum’s power‑battery foil is exported to more than 100 countries, Lizhong Group’s aluminum alloy wheels serve the global automotive supply chain, and Yalu’s high‑precision industrial aluminum products have become the preferred choice in the high‑end curtain‑wall sector…

Future Outlook: Achieving Greatness Through Simplicity, Building Dreams in the Vast Sky
As China embarks on the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, its aluminum alloy industry is confronting both new opportunities and challenges. With the emergence of burgeoning sectors such as the low‑altitude economy and commercial spaceflight, market demands for aluminum alloy performance are becoming increasingly diversified: lighter weight, greater strength, enhanced high‑temperature resistance, and improved machinability have emerged as key directions for technological advancement.

“The competition in the aluminum alloy sector is, at its core, a race in materials genome engineering,” said the chairman of Hua’ao Alloy. Looking ahead, companies must continue to ramp up R&D investment, break through cutting-edge technologies such as additive manufacturing and rare-earth modification, and deepen industry–university–research collaboration to establish an innovation闭环 that seamlessly bridges the laboratory and the production line.

From the wings of the C919 to the pressurized module of Tianzhou‑10, from the fuel tanks of the Long March rockets to the pressure‑resistant hulls of deep‑sea equipment, China’s aluminum alloys are serving as a “lightweight backbone,” underpinning the nation’s aspirations to build cutting‑edge, high‑tech systems. Along this journey into the skies, the twin engines of technological innovation and industrial upgrading are propelling China from an aluminum‑producing giant toward an aluminum‑industry powerhouse.