Europe is strengthening its copper supply security through recycling, with Mitsubishi Materials, KGHM, Aurubis and specialist recyclers investing in facilities that recover metals from electronic scrap and industrial residues. The shift is making urban mining an increasingly important part of the EU’s critical raw materials strategy.
Copper is essential to electricity grids, renewable energy, electric vehicles, data centres, industrial electrification and defence manufacturing. With new mines requiring substantial capital and lengthy development periods, recovering metal already circulating in the economy is becoming increasingly important.
Mitsubishi Materials, KGHM and Aurubis Advance Projects
Japan’s Mitsubishi Materials plans to develop its 3ECYCLE smelting project in the Netherlands, selected as a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. The facility will primarily process electronic scrap to recover copper and other valuable metals.
Poland’s state-controlled KGHM plans to transform 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, alongside development of the Retków-Grodziszcze copper deposit. Together, the investments are valued at more than PLN 9.5 billion.
Germany’s Aurubis inaugurated its €190 million Complex Recycling Hamburg facility in July. The plant is designed to process larger volumes of complex recycling materials and smelter intermediates across the company’s multimetal operations. Aurubis’ recycling business is also generating stronger earnings. Its Multimetal Recycling segment reported €87 million in operating earnings before taxes during the first nine months of its 2025/26 financial year, compared with €36 million in the same period a year earlier.
Specialist Recyclers Target Copper Recovery
Other projects are expanding Europe’s secondary metal supply. Dutch company Myne Circular Metals, backed by the CRMA initiative, is targeting copper and aluminium, while CRITICAL.’s planned printed-circuit-board processing facility identifies copper among its principal recovered metals.
These developments reflect a broader transformation in the copper industry. Mining, scrap collection, processing and refining are becoming increasingly interconnected, allowing smelters to diversify their feedstock and recyclers to establish themselves as suppliers to strategic industrial sectors.
Scrap Availability Becomes a Strategic Challenge
As recycling capacity grows, competition for suitable scrap is likely to intensify. Plants need reliable feedstock volumes, increasing the importance of long-term procurement contracts, partnerships with electronics and automotive manufacturers, and access to municipal and industrial collection networks.
Europe’s copper strategy therefore extends beyond mine development. Investment opportunities are emerging in scrap pre-treatment, material separation, metallurgical processing, smelting upgrades, digital material tracking and logistics infrastructure. Additional processing capacity does not automatically translate into higher output. The availability of suitable recoverable material could become a significant constraint as more facilities enter operation.
Urban Mining Complements Primary Production
Recycled copper cannot eliminate the need for mining, but it can reduce import requirements and keep existing metal circulating through European industries for longer.
Buildings, vehicles, electricity networks and electronic products collectively represent a substantial distributed copper reserve. Recovering these materials is becoming an important part of Europe’s efforts to strengthen supply security and develop a more circular raw materials economy.
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