Aluminum and copper scrap essential for the competitiveness of Greek and European industry

ElvalHalcor is leading efforts to limit the leakage of secondary critical raw materials outside Europe. This is a major issue concerning the EU’s critical mineral raw materials, as “N” has recently reported.

According to the company, Elvalhalcor’s aluminum rolling sector actively contributed to the document of the European Aluminum Association (January 2026) which calls on the European institutions “to quickly adopt effective trade measures to stop the leakage of aluminum scrap outside the EU.”

ElvalHalcor participated in the relevant consultation of the European Commission and at the same time addressed, through the Aluminum Association of Greece, the Greek authorities to support the entire effort. It noted that recycling both aluminum and copper saves 95%-85% of the energy required to produce primary aluminum and copper. However, the leakage of European scrap through exports is increasing dramatically, now not only to Asian countries but also to the US, as a result of the implementation of the 50% tariff of Article 232 and without rapid action, it is expected to increase fourfold by 2030.

ElvalHalcor, a leading industrial producer in the copper and aluminum sector internationally and one of the largest exporting companies in our country, pointed out that it plays a leading role in highlighting and addressing this specific problem that until recently was “under the radar”: the massive and ever-increasing leakage of aluminum and copper scrap outside the EU, undermining the competitiveness of European and Greek manufacturing as well as Europe’s goal of strategic autonomy.

Initiative for copper scrap

The Greek company also underlined that the problem of copper scrap leakage also has similar characteristics, with Halcor, the copper and alloy extrusion sector of Elvalhalcor, leading efforts to highlight and address this problem as early as early 2025. At the initiative of Halcor, similar European companies were coordinated, which jointly drafted a position paper that expresses the vast majority of companies participating in the copper supply chain, with data and proposals for addressing the problem. The text was submitted in two phases to the European Commission, in its original form and later enriched, while it was also sent to the Greek authorities. The result of these efforts was the awareness-raising of the European Institutions, with the reference to potential trade protection measures for copper scrap in the RESource EU Action Plan (December 2025) being of paramount importance.

Greece

For Greece, the issue is even more important. The domestic copper and aluminum processing industry is among the country’s most dynamic export sectors. With products of high know-how and added value, the sector is consistently in the top ten of Greece’s most exportable products, reflecting not only extroversion but also deep production specialization and knowledge. Greece can be a reference point for European energy security and the EU’s autonomy in critical raw materials.

ElvalHalcor is the largest copper tube producer in EMEA and the second largest aluminum rolling industry in hot rolling capacity in Europe. Indicatively, Elvalhalcor’s exports reached 71% of the value of Greek exports of precious and non-ferrous metals in 2024. According to the IOBE study (2024), the total impact of Elvalhalcor on the Greek economy amounts to 1.04 billion euros, while it contributes 388 million euros to public revenues, creates 714 million euros of social products, and supports approximately 18,000 jobs, directly and indirectly. For an industry of this size, the adequacy of aluminum and copper scrap is not a technical parameter, it is a matter of production continuity, extroversion, competitiveness and industrial safety.