The plant will recover up to 60,000 tonnes of essential metals annually from electronic waste and will begin production in the third quarter of 2026. The investment amounts to 550 million euros and will generate around 350 jobs.
Atlantic Copper inaugurates CirCular this Monday at its metallurgical complex in Huelva, the first in Southern Europe capable of recovering valuable metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment. The event, as reported by Huelva Hoy, will be presided over by the President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, and will be attended by the Director of the European Commission Representation in Spain, Daniel Calleja; the Chairman of the Board of Atlantic Copper, Javier Targhetta; the CEO of the company, Macarena Gutiérrez; the Mayor of Huelva, Pilar Miranda, and the President of the Diputación de Huelva, David Toscano.
The facility will process up to 60,000 tonnes annually of non-ferrous fractions from electrical and electronic devices that have reached the end of their useful life. It will allow for the recovery of copper, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, tin, nickel, and zinc. The project, declared strategic by the Junta de Andalucía and the European Commission, will enter production during the third quarter of 2026.
The total investment amounts to 550 million euros. Environmental protection equipment occupies 50% of the project's area and has accounted for 40% of the investment, according to the company. Once operational, the plant will create around 350 direct and indirect jobs, with technical, operational, and management profiles.
"2025 was a key year for the company, in which progress has been made on this strategic project and its competitiveness has been strengthened in a complex global environment."
This was stated by the CEO of Atlantic Copper, Macarena Gutiérrez, during the presentation of results last March. Gutiérrez added that the company remains "committed to innovation, sustainability, and the creation of quality jobs, generating value for Huelva and for the entirety of our industrial chain." She also highlighted the positive perception of the project among the local community, attributed to the company's transparency policy and meetings with residents and business owners.
The plant responds to the growth of waste from electrical and electronic devices. In 2022, 62 million tonnes were generated worldwide, equivalent to filling 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, and it is expected to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030. Only 22.3% is properly recycled, resulting in the loss of billions of euros in metals such as gold, silver, copper, and palladium. More than 5% of global waste comes from small devices like mobile phones, batteries, cameras, or laptops.
The inauguration this Monday marks the countdown to the launch of the plant, which will begin production in the third quarter of 2026 at the metallurgical complex that Atlantic Copper has in Huelva.
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