E-car boom boosts sales at Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis

Rapidly rising sales of electric cars translates into good business opportunities for Europe's largest copper producer Aurubis, reports newswire Reuters. "With every electric vehicle, we see increased demand for copper," said company CEO Roland Harings. He added that battery-powered cars and plug-in vehicles have between 50 and 90 kilos of copper on board in the form of cables, printed circuit boards and connectors - many times more than what is installed in conventional cars. Aurubis' battery-recycling business also stands to benefit, the Hamburg-based company said.

Currently, about 15 percent of Aurubis's copper products are used in the automotive industry. This share will increase, said Harings. "For us, electric mobility is an important growth market." He said car battery recycling remained a minor business at present but was set to increase. "We only expect a real market for battery recycling at the end of this decade," he said. Aurubis reported a 15 percent rise in operating earnings before taxes of 221 million euros for its 2019/20 financial year. For the current financial year it forecasts 210-270 million euros.

The take-up of electric vehicles has recently gained momentum in many markets across the globe. In Germany, registrations increased six-fold in November compared to a year ago, to almost 30,000, fuelled by government incentives.