Nexans announced that it has entered into an industrial partnership agreement with Italy’s Continuus-Properzi, a specialist in continuous casting technologies, that will build an innovative copper production and recycling plant at the Nexans site in Lens, France, for 2026.

A press release said that global demand for copper is continuing to increase, as is recycling, which led to the strategic decision. “Based on the operational expertise of the Nexans site, founded in 1971 in the industrial center of Lens, and the technological expertise of Continuus- Properzi, the objective is to continuously produce wire rod from recycled copper, through a state-of-the-art refining method using up to 100% of recycled metal, while optimizing water and energy consumption.”

Continuus-Properzi is a supplier of complete installations for the production of ETP (Electrolytic Tough Pitch) and FRHC (Fire Refined High Conductivity) wire rod. The Lens plant is the only copper rod foundry in France, and the investment of more than €90 million will increase its wire rod production capacity by over 50%, and boost its copper scrap recycling capacity to manage up to 80,000 metric tons per year.

“I feel extremely proud to have signed this strategic agreement with Nexans, a highly prestigious name in cable manufacturing,” said Continuus-Properzi President Giulio Properzi. “In compliance with the exacting requirements of Nexans engineering and the Lens site in particular, we have configured an installation that will meet the highest standards in years to come in terms of industrial performance, energy savings and environmental footprint.”

“By choosing to increase its recycling capacity, Nexans is proving that it is possible to reconcile industrial performance with the preservation of biodiversity,” said Nexans CEO Christopher Guérin. “Through this investment in (our) historic Lens plant, Nexans is ensuring its strategic independence and staying ahead of the raw materials crisis, serving its customers and partners.”

Nexans is already actively involved in cable recycling through Recycâbles, a joint venture set up with Suez in 2008. With this new initiative, the Group has become a key player in the circular economy of the European copper industry. Implemented for the first time in France, this process will help to create a circular model by collecting waste from different sectors of industry across France and reusing it virtuously for new finished products.

Nexans is vertically integrated, and the Group is entirely self-sufficient in terms of the copper supplies required for its entire cable production value chain. This key strategic advantage will be consolidated by the new plant, which will allow the Group to recycle more cables from construction sites or “urban mines.”

Nexans’ ambition is to adapt the life cycle of its products, reducing their carbon content, while also decreasing the carbon footprint of the cable industry as a whole. This investment is also part of the Group’s efforts to raise the proportion of recycled copper in its cables to 30% by 2030.