Nexans, a global leader in cable system manufacturing, has secured €250 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), a portion of which is earmarked for a major new copper production and recycling facility at its historic site in Lens, northern France.

A press release said that the new plant is being built on the same site as Nexans’ existing copper production facility in Lens, northern France. This investment—over €90 million of which is directed to the site—will leverage existing operational expertise. The development is an expansion at the Lens location ​that began copper casting operations in 1971. Once operational, the new plant will increase copper wire production by over 50% and will have annual capacity to recycle up to 80,000 metric tons of copper annually.

The initiative was described as a strategic component of both France’s national reindustrialization agenda and the European Union’s REPowerEU. The project was recognized as part of France’s “France 2030” plan for forward-looking industrial modernization. The Lens site is already France’s only copper rod foundry, and the additional capacity is seen as vital for securing copper supplies and advancing Europe’s circular economy. Nexans projects that, by 2028, a quarter of its cable output from Lens will use recycled copper sourced and refined on-site.​

Beyond Lens, the EIB financing will also support investments at Nexans’ sites in Charleroi, Erembodegem, Calais, and Bourg-en-Bresse, targeting the offshore wind sector, submarine interconnections, and low-carbon cable production. These moves underscore Nexans’ commitment to the energy transition and its Science Based Targets initiative for carbon neutrality.​