Europe is expanding its copper recycling capacity as Mitsubishi Materials, KGHM and Aurubis develop projects designed to recover metal from electronic waste, scrap and industrial residues. The investments are strengthening the role of secondary copper in the region’s raw-material supply chains.
Demand from electricity grids, renewable energy, electric vehicles, industrial electrification, data centres and defence manufacturing is increasing the importance of copper. Developing primary mines remains capital-intensive and time-consuming, placing greater emphasis on recovering metal already circulating in the economy.
Strategic projects expand secondary copper supply
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials said its proposed 3ECYCLE smelting project in the Netherlands had received Strategic Project status under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). The facility will primarily process electronic scrap, recovering copper and other valuable metals.
Poland’s state-controlled KGHM plans to convert its Legnica Copper Smelter and Refinery into an integrated recycling metallurgical plant. The investment is one of two KGHM projects awarded CRMA strategic status in October. Together with development of the Retków-Grodziszcze copper deposit, the two investments are valued at more than PLN 9.5 billion.
The projects reflect a shift towards integrating primary mining, scrap collection and metallurgical processing within European copper supply chains.
Aurubis expands complex recycling capacity
Germany’s Aurubis inaugurated its €190 million Complex Recycling Hamburg facility in July. The plant is designed to process greater volumes of complex recycling materials and smelter intermediates across the company’s multimetal network.
Recycling is also contributing more significantly to Aurubis’ financial performance. Its Multimetal Recycling segment generated €87 million in operating earnings before taxes during the first nine months of financial year 2025/26, up from €36 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Smelters capable of processing copper concentrates, scrap, electronic waste and complex industrial residues can diversify their feedstock sources. Specialist recyclers supplying consistent secondary materials are consequently becoming more integrated into industrial metal supply chains.
Competition for scrap and recovered metals
The Netherlands-based Myne Circular Metals is developing another CRMA-backed project targeting copper alongside aluminium. CRITICAL.’s planned printed circuit board facility also identifies copper among its principal recovered metals.
As processing capacity expands, competition for suitable scrap is becoming increasingly important. Recycling plants and smelters require predictable material volumes, raising the value of long-term procurement contracts, partnerships with electronics and automotive manufacturers, and access to municipal and industrial collection networks. Investment is extending beyond smelting into pre-treatment, material separation, metallurgical processing, digital material tracking and logistics infrastructure needed to collect and aggregate secondary feedstock.
Recycling complements primary copper production
Secondary copper cannot fully replace mining because recycling depends on metal that has already entered the economy. Recovering copper from existing products can reduce marginal import requirements and keep previously purchased metal circulating through successive industrial uses.
Europe’s emerging urban-mining model therefore treats copper contained in electricity infrastructure, buildings, vehicles and electronic equipment as an additional source of supply alongside conventional mineral deposits.
