Nexans, a global cable systems leader, secured €250 million in financing from the European Investment Bank to back its energy transition and manufacturing expansion plans. The company will direct a significant share of that funding to a new copper production and recycling plant at its historic Lens site in northern France.
The new plant will rise on the same Lens property that already houses Nexans’ copper production operations. Nexans will invest more than €90 million at Lens, leveraging decades of operational know-how at a site that began copper casting in 1971.
Once the expansion goes live, Nexans expects copper wire output in Lens to climb by more than 50 percent. The facility will also gain the ability to recycle up to 80,000 metric tons of copper per year, strengthening security of supply and supporting circular economy goals.
French and European policy makers view the project as a strategic piece of the country’s reindustrialization agenda and the EU’s REPowerEU program. France has highlighted the investment within its “France 2030” industrial modernization initiative.
Lens already operates as France’s only copper rod foundry, and the new capacity will further reinforce that role for the French and European markets. Nexans forecasts that by 2028, roughly one quarter of the cable it produces in Lens will use recycled copper processed on-site.
The EIB financing will also fund upgrades at other Nexans facilities in Charleroi, Erembodegem, Calais and Bourg‑en‑Bresse. These investments will target offshore wind, submarine interconnections and low‑carbon cable production, aligning with Nexans’ Science Based Targets commitments for carbon neutrality.
