Why Nexans Brasil is investing in electrical cables with recycled content

Nexans Brasil is investing in electrical cables with up to 30% recycled content to reduce environmental impacts and avoid bottlenecks in the production chain. 

According to the company's Brazil president, Gwenael Gilbert, the world may not have enough copper in the next decade to manufacture these products due to growing electrification. 

“There will be 20 years of massive electrification in the world, with artificial intelligence and a profound transformation of generation sources. This revolution is bringing opportunities for us, and we’re studying ways to ensure that there is no shortage of resources to make it possible,” Gilbert told BNamericas. 

Brazil currently occupies first place in a ranking of 42 countries in which Nexans operates in terms of cable recycling.

In addition to copper, Nexans Brasil has approved aluminum with 10% recycled content for its cables.

Another area of Nexans' production processes that has a high recycling rate is reels. Recently, in just one month the company recycled 74% of its cable reels. For this, it carries out a technical retrofit, which guarantees the quality of a new reel, but with reused wood. Plastic and aluminum are also approved for recycling for reels.

In addition to its concern for the quality of the materials, Nexans carries out an external audit to guarantee the traceability and suitability of the suppliers who work with the raw materials.

Meanwhile, its fleet of trucks has undergone a selection process to ensure that each vehicle leaves the factory with an optimized load, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. 

With 500 employees, Nexans Brasil has a factory in Rio de Janeiro, from where it produces goods for the Brazilian, Paraguayan and Argentine markets. 

In Brazil, Gilbert sees opportunities for electrical cables in the solar and wind generation segments, as well as in manufacturing and datacenters.  

“The more demanding the project, the more they will need quality cables and technical support, and Nexans has advanced engineering and a very good reputation,” he said.