Ice accumulation of overhead transmission lines can lead to serious damage to power systems. Superhydrophobic nanostructured Al conductors are proposed to replace the de-icing or ice-melting equipment for economic advantages

good anti-icing properties and robust electrical performance. Anodisation under different direct current densities is adopted to fabricate two nanostructures on Al conductors

including the reticular and honeycomb-like nanoporous structures. Compared to pure Al conductors

the anodised surface of honeycomb-like nanoporous structures exhibits lower ice adhesion (3.82 kPa) and ice accumulation. Aluminium conductor steel reinforced treated in the proposed method has also been validated to exhibit a significant anti-glaze icing property. Additionally

corona performance and line loss are experimentally measured and calculated to prove good electrical performance. The 0.27 A Al strand shows the highest corona inception voltage (27.86 kV) and the lowest AC resistance (4.65 Ω/km)

which is attributed to the good dielectric property and heat dissipation. Therefore

the proposed anti-icing transmission conductors show profound application potential for power systems.