How recycled copper and low-carbon cables support China's electrification？

China's electrification is entering a new phase of sustained growth, driven by renewable energy, large-scale build-out, electric mobility and digital infrastructure.As the power system upgrades, demand for copper and aluminum, the metals that carry electrification, keeps rising. That puts the balance between material supply and low-carbon goals at the center of the industry's agenda.

Nexans has published its Position Paper on Recycling, Circular Economy & Low-Carbon Products. It sets out how recycled copper, low-carbon cable design and circular material systems can lower the carbon footprint of power infrastructure while using resources more efficiently.

 

Resource Constraints in a Rapidly Electrifying System

Driven by renewable energy deployment, electric transport and grid modernization, copper demand continues to grow rapidly. Global consumption more than doubled between 1995 and 2020 and is expected to reach approximately 40 million tons by 2030 , while global supply capacity is projected at around 33 million tons, indicating a widening structural gap.

This reflects a long-term structural dynamic driven by declining ore grades, higher extraction costs, and limited expansion capacity in primary supply. The traditional linear "extract–produce–dispose" model is under growing pressure as electrification grows.

China feels this directly. As the world's largest market for electrification infrastructure and a major copper-consumer, it keeps investing in EHV transmission (Extra-high-voltage), renewable integration, and grid modernization, which puts material efficiency and supply resilience high on the agenda.

Circular Economy at the Core of Electrification

For Nexans, circular economy and decarbonization are part of electrification infrastructure itself.

Between 70% and 90% of a cable's carbon footprint sits in upstream metal production, so raising the share of recycled copper and aluminum is the biggest single lever for cutting emissions along the value chain. Transforming end-of-life cables into usable material through "urban mining" moves the industry toward closed-loop systems.

Nexans is building industrial-scale recycling that links cable collection, reprocessing, and remanufacturing, enabling continuous circulation of metals within electrification networks. The company targets 25% recycled copper content in its cables by 2028 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

Once refined and smelted to standard, recycled copper matches primary copper on electrical and mechanical performance, so it meets industrial requirements in full.

 

Low-Carbon Cables and Carbon-Footprint Transparency

Alongside material circularity, low-carbon cable design and product carbon-footprint transparency are becoming decisive for buyers.

Nexans applies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies and PEP Ecopassport declarations to measure and verify a product's footprint across raw-material sourcing, manufacturing and use. That makes emissions traceable along the supply chain.

As carbon-related trade rules tighten, disclosing a product's carbon footprint now affects both compliance and market position for manufacturers and exporters.

For example, in collaboration with RTE, France's transmission system operator, recycled aluminum from decommissioned high-voltage cables is reused in new grid infrastructure through a closed loop. It shows that circular materials can deliver both performance reliability and lower carbon intensity in a large-scale use.

China's 15th Five-Year Plan and Circular Economy Acceleration

China's Circular Economy Development Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) makes the circular economy a pillar of green development. It calls for stronger waste-recycling systems, better resource recovery, and circular value chains across production, consumption, and end-of-life stages.

Under the dual carbon goals (peak by 2030 and neutrality by 2060), recycled copper, recycled aluminum, and urban mining systems are folded into resource-security and industrial upgrading strategies, while UHV grids and renewables  keep demand for high-performance, low-carbon materials high.

The plan targets annual recycling of major renewable resources of about 510 million ton by 2030, up from around 410 million ton in 2025, and a recycling sector worth 8 trillion yuan by 2030. It names copper and aluminium among its priorities and points to expanding recycled-metal supply channels.

Nexans’“responsible dual sourcing" approach maps closely onto these priorities. By combining secure primary material supply with a rising share of recycled materials, it gives the electrification industry a way to line up resource security with decarbonization. That supports China's broader circular economy agenda and helps power infrastructure evolve toward greater resilience and lower carbon emissions.

Nexans is also advancing circular economy practices across China and Asia-Pacific. Photovoltaic products, made in China with 100% recycled copper have been supplied to a leading global manufacturing company for a solar project in New Zealand. At the same time, Nexans China's low-carbon cables support renewable energy projects and industrial development across Scotland, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. More recently, Nexans achieved a sustainability innovation milestone by developing a cable technology made with 99.5% recycled materials, using 100% recycled copper provided by Chinese partners, together with recycled polyethylene and PVC from European suppliers. The innovation demonstrates the consistency between implementation technology, industrial performance‌, and lower footprint can be achieved together.

Circular Electrification as a New Industrial Paradigm

As global electrification continues to scale, circular economy is moving from an environmental concept into a working part of industry. Bringing together recycled copper, low-carbon cables, and carbon-footprint transparency changes both the materials and the emissions of modern power infrastructure.

Through its Position Paper, Nexans reinforces the view that the next phase of electrification will be defined not only by scale and speed, but also by the ability to build resilient, traceable, and circular material systems that support sustainable energy development in China and worldwide.

To learn more about Nexans' Position Paper on Recycling, Circular Economy & Low-Carbon Products, as well as its low-carbon cable and circular economy solutions, please click the link below:

2026-06-recycling-circular-economy-and-low-carbon-products-nexans-position-paper.pdf