Over half a billion tonnes of copper has been produced since 1900 and two thirds of it is still in productive use, according to the Fraunhofer Institute. This metal is vital to life as we know it and uniquely suited to circularity, say Fernando Nuño and Bruno De Wachter, members of the International Copper association and advisory board for electrical engineering trade show, CWIEME Berlin.

Copper’s unique properties make it a fundamental material in modern society, integral to various industries and even our own bodies. Its high electrical and thermal conductivity make it indispensable in electrical wiring, electronics and enabling the renewable energy transition.

Today, the electrical manufacturing industry faces a range of challenges, including enabling the energy transition, resource scarcity and pressure to reduce its environmental impact. These challenges are exacerbated by another issue, the growing e-waste problem.

Take-make-waste

E-waste, or electronic waste, refers to discarded electrical and electronic devices like computers, smartphones and appliances that are no longer functional or wanted. E-waste contains both valuable materials and hazardous substances and, according to the International Labour Organization, it is the planet’s fastest growing waste category.

Most e-waste ends up in developing countries that lack the infrastructure to treat it — without harm to people and the environment — and only recover a fraction of the available materials for re-use.

62 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2022, according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor (GEM), up 82 per cent compared to 2010. GEM found that the metals contained in this e-waste were worth US $91 billion, including US $19 billion of copper, US $15 billion of gold and US $16 billion of iron.

Despite this, less than a quarter (22.3 per cent) of 2022’s e-waste was reported as collected and recycled, leaving billions of dollars’ worth of valuable materials unaccounted for, potentially causing pollution and increasing demand for primary ores.

Producing this much waste with a linear approach to manufacturing intensifies the scarcity of raw materials and increases the environmental impact of obtaining resources. Adopting a circular economy would ‘close the loop’, reducing reliance on virgin materials by making use of the significant quantities of materials in e-waste, and copper is among the best materials to start with.

Recyclability

In the context of a circular economy, copper's recyclability is particularly significant. It can be recycled indefinitely without any loss of performance or quality. This characteristic alone sets it apart from other metals used in electrical manufacturing.

For some other metals, the purity of the scrap is a concern and only like-to-like recycling is possible without advanced separation and refining processes. This means, for example, that shredded Zorba aluminium from end-of-life vehicles cannot be used to manufacture transformer windings. Instead, many recycled metals often require blending with virgin material to reach the required purity level.

In addition, metals like aluminium, tin and nickel are often alloyed to enhance their properties. Identifying and sorting the various alloys and then recovering the constituent metals using electrolytic, pyro- or hydrometallurgical processes is both time and energy intensive. Often, it is too complex to keep all those waste streams separate, so the material is mainly downcycled.

Copper, on the other hand, is generally used in a highly pure form in electrical applications. In fact, around 80 per cent of copper in use is unalloyed. Even when in scrap with impurities or alloyed with other elements, recycling copper without downgrading is possible.

The refining process for both primary and secondary copper is identical, and under the right conditions, higher purity levels can even be achieved from secondary material, ensuring its value and usability in high-quality applications. As a result, copper is never truly lost and human society holds a massive urban copper mine.

Start with copper

The relatively high economic value of copper can be a driver for recycling of other materials, too. For example, recycling companies like La Farga are adopting advanced technology to improve copper recovery from products, such as AI-powered sorting systems with X-ray fluorescence (XRF). This technology allows more accurate identification and separation of materials from waste. A side-effect of this development is that other metals can be recovered as byproducts of the smelting, converting and refining processes of copper.

In this way, recycling copper facilitates the recycling of other materials, such as gold, silver, nickel, tin, lead and zinc. More than 20 different materials are being recycled in coppers’ slipstream.

However, there is a limit to the percentage of demand that can be met by recycled material. Even if 100 per cent of end-of-life copper is recycled, secondary copper alone cannot meet the growing demand for copper. For instance, transformers and motors have a lifespan of around 30 years and by the time the copper within them becomes available as scrap, global copper demand is likely to have doubled.

This makes it impossible to extend the global recycled content rate in new products above 35 to 40 per cent.

Designing for circularity

Currently, around 30 per cent of copper demand comes from recycled products. As mentioned above, improving recycling will increase that fraction, but more efficient designs are equally important.

For example, designers can make it easier to remove the copper and other metals from their products, improving recovery by eliminating metal waste through losses during processes like shredding. Furthermore, communicating with smelters and recycling organisations can help OEMs choose alloys most suited to recycling for their products.

In addition, using copper in certain equipment helps to reduce the consumption of other materials. For example, transformers with copper windings require less electrical steel than units with aluminium windings, while induction motors with copper rotors lead to smaller units for the same power. Trade shows which bring the entire electrical manufacturing value chain under one roof, such as CWIEME Berlin, provide excellent opportunities for this kind of industry-level collaboration.

While its principles are rooted in age-old practices like farming, the circular economy as a structured, scalable model is a modern response to global challenges. It combines traditional wisdom with innovative tools to create a sustainable future. How fitting it would be if the first truly circular material were copper — an element so vital to humanity's past technological advancements and now indispensable to the energy transition that will shape the future.

To learn more about copper’s role in society, visit the International Copper Alliance’s website. For more information about visiting or exhibiting at CWIEME Berlin, one of the world’s leading electrical engineering events, visit www.Berlin.CWIEMEevents.com.

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About CWIEME Berlin: CWIEME Berlin, one of the premier events in the world of electrical engineering, stands as an essential destination for both experts and enthusiasts. This yearly occasion, situated in the heart of Europe, presents an unparalleled opportunity for networking, knowledge acquisition and the exploration of cutting-edge industry developments.

Ref: CWI046/12/24