German metals giant Aurubis is to expand recycling activities at a plant in Hamburg after securing a €200 million (£174m) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The firm said the cash would boost its contribution to the circular economy.
Aurubis’ Hamburg facility is undergoing a €190m programme to allow it to process an extra 30,000 tonnes of recycled material as well as more internal smelting intermediates such as metal-bearing emissions from production.
The five-year EIB loan will support this work as well as an expansion of copper refining in Bulgaria.
Steffen Hoffmann, chief financial officer at Aurubis, said the funding “acknowledges the social relevance and outstanding quality of our investment projects”.
He added: “The loan’s attractive terms compared to market conditions enable us to further diversify our financing base.”
EIB vice-president Nicola Beer said expanding recycling activities was “essential to Europe’s resilience, sustainable development and industrial competitiveness”.
She added: “The EIB’s first loan following the adoption of our new broad-ranging critical raw materials strategy will boost copper recycling, fortify European value chains and advance implementation of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.”
