The European Investment Bank (EIB) gave €250 million to French cable maker Nexans to build new factories and recycle more copper as Europe races to expand renewable energy, according to EIB. The money will pay for research projects through 2029 and a new plant in Lens that can recycle 80,000 tonnes of copper each year.
Nexans makes the thick power cables that connect offshore wind farms to land and link countries’ electrical grids together. The new factory should increase copper wire production by over half. The EU backed most of the loan—€190 million—through its InvestEU program for key industries.
Europe needs these cables badly as countries build more wind farms and electric car charging stations. Nexans’ cables carry power from sea-based turbines back to shore and let countries share electricity across borders. Business has been booming as European governments try to cut carbon emissions and reduce Russian energy imports.
The loan will also upgrade plants in Belgium and France to handle bigger offshore wind projects. “Nexans is a key player in the energy transition,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. Company boss Christopher Guérin said the funding will help make Nexans “a key player in sustainable electrification in Europe” and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers. The company wants to go carbon-neutral by 2050.
Part of the money goes toward expanding a site in Bourg-en-Bresse to make more low-carbon cables for France and Western Europe. The funding fits with the EU’s REPowerEU plan to ditch Russian energy through faster renewable rollouts.
