Asta invests 17 million euros in copper recycling plant

Asta Energy Solutions AG will invest around 17 million euros in a new copper recycling plant in Oed, in the district of Wiener Neustadt, ORF reported. The first machines will be ordered this year, with production scheduled to begin at the end of 2029.

The listed company, which is majority-owned by industrialist Michael Tojner, said the plant would reduce its dependence on copper suppliers and the copper market by enabling it to produce copper wire itself.

The copper scrap will come from Asta’s own production as well as from customers and suppliers. The company said agreements were currently being finalised and would be built up alongside the plant’s gradual production start-up.

“Our own recycling makes us less dependent on the copper market and secures our customers’ long-term access to high-quality copper wire,” said Karl Schäcke, chief executive of Asta Energy Solutions AG.

The investment is part of the company’s Low Carbon Copper initiative, announced during its initial public offering in January. Asta aims to increase the share of recycled copper in its production to 70 percent by 2030 and reduce its carbon footprint.

The company said copper can be recycled repeatedly without losing quality, while Europe obtains only a small share of its copper from local primary sources. Around half of its copper is already recycled, according to Asta.

Asta Energy Solutions AG employs more than 1,400 people and produces specialised copper components at six sites in Europe, Asia and South America. The components are used in high-voltage transformers, generators and increasingly in data centres.