Atlantic Copper’s CirCular Project: Turning E-Waste into a Strategic Resource for Europe

As Europe works to strengthen its raw materials' security and expand domestic recycling capacity, Atlantic Copper is developing a new route for recovering strategic metals from electronic waste. Its CirCular project, recognised as a Strategic Project under the Critical Raw Materials Act, will recover valuable metals from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and reintigrate them into Europe’s industrial value chain.

We spoke with Macarena Gutiérrez, CEO of Atlantic Copper – a long-standing EIT RawMaterials partner, about the ambitions behind CirCular and what industry and policymakers need to do to turn Europe’s circularity goals into industrial reality.

“But circularity must be understood as a complement to primary production: recycled flows will grow significantly, yet they cannot by themselves meet the scale of demand driven by electrification, digitalization and the energy transition.”

— Macarena Gutiérrez, CEO of Atlantic Copper

1. The CirCular project is a Strategic Project under the CRMA. Could you briefly explain what it involves, its goals, and why recovering metals from WEEE matters for Europe's resource security?

The facility is designed to process around 60,000 tonnes per year of non-ferrous fractions from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), recovering valuable metals such as copper, gold, silver, tin, platinum and palladium. It will be fully integrated into the primary route in our smelter and combined processes will allow us to treat 90 thousand tonnes of scrap per year

Why does this matter?

Because electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in Europe, and it contains many of the critical materials required for electrification, renewable energy, digital technologies and strategic industries. Instead of losing these resources, Europe has an opportunity to recover and reuse them.

For us, CirCular is about turning waste into strategic value. It strengthens Europe's supply security, reduces dependence on imported raw materials, and contributes directly to the CRMA objective of increasing recycling-based supply of critical materials.

But circularity must be understood as a complement to primary production: recycled flows will grow significantly, yet they cannot by themselves meet the scale of demand driven by electrification, digitalization and the energy transition.

Ultimately, every tonne of metal recovered from electronic waste is a tonne that remains in Europe's economy.

2. E-scrap is multi-metal, fast-cycle, but technically complex to process. What are the biggest innovations you have to develop to make CirCular viable?

The complexity of e-scrap is precisely what makes the project so exciting. Unlike traditional mining feedstocks, electronic waste contains a highly variable mixture of metals, plastics, and other materials in constantly changing compositions.

To make CirCular viable, we spent several years evaluating different technological options and developing a solution capable of efficiently recovering a wide range of metals from these complex secondary streams.

One of the key innovations was integrating advanced e-material processing into an existing metallurgical complex rather than building a standalone operation. This allows us to take advantage of infrastructure, operational expertise, and synergies already available at Atlantic Copper.

Another important innovation is maximizing resource efficiency throughout the process. We're not simply extracting a single metal; we're recovering multiple valuable materials simultaneously, including critical and precious metals, while optimizing energy use and minimizing waste.

“Europe will not achieve strategic autonomy by identifying critical raw materials alone. It will achieve it by building the industrial capacity to secure, process and recycle them competitively, while ensuring reliable access to both primary and secondary raw materials. CirCular is Atlantic Copper’s contribution to that ambition: transforming waste into strategic value and helping make Europe’s raw materials agenda a practical industrial reality.”

— Macarena Gutiérrez, CEO, Atlantic Copper

3. Atlantic Copper has been an EIT RawMaterials partner for several years. What value has that partnership brought — and what would you say to other major industry players who are not yet part of the network?

Our collaboration with EIT RawMaterials has been extremely valuable because innovation rarely happens in isolation.

The transition towards a more sustainable and resilient raw materials value chain requires collaboration between industry, academia, technology providers, research centers and policymakers. EIT RawMaterials provides exactly that platform.

For Atlantic Copper, the network has helped us access knowledge, partnerships, innovation opportunities and discussions that are shaping the future of the sector. It also facilitates collaboration at a European level, which is increasingly important given the strategic nature of raw materials.

To companies that are not yet involved, my message would be simple: participation is not just about being informed; it is about helping shape the future of the industry.

The challenges facing Europe—critical raw materials, competitiveness, decarbonization and circularity — are too big for any single company to solve alone. EIT RawMaterials creates an ecosystem where solutions can be developed faster and at greater scale.

“The transition towards a more sustainable and resilient raw materials value chain requires collaboration between industry, academia, technology providers, research centers and policymakers. EIT RawMaterials provides exactly that platform.”

— Macarena Gutiérrez, CEO of Atlantic Copper

4. The Circular Economy Act is expected this year, with reform of the WEEE Directive on the table. What do the metals and recycling sector need to see in that legislation to make projects like CirCular viable at scale?

The most important requirement is simple: Europe must ensure that more critical materials currently lost from the system are collected, retained, and recycled within Europe in a competitive way.

For projects like CirCular, feedstock availability is essential. Improving WEEE collection rates, increasing traceability, and ensuring high-quality treatment of electronic waste should be central objectives of the new legislation.

“We also need measures that encourage investment in advanced recycling capacity. Circular economy objectives should be aligned with industrial policy objectives, so that regulation becomes a driver of investment, innovation, and competitiveness. Otherwise, Europe risks setting ambitious targets while relying on processing capacity located elsewhere.”

Electronic waste is one of the richest urban mines available, containing copper, precious metals and many of the critical raw materials Europe needs for electrification, digitalization, AI and clean technologies. The challenge is transforming that waste into a reliable source of strategic raw materials, while ensuring that secondary supply complements a competitive and responsible primary raw materials base. The Circular Economy Act can play a decisive role in making that happen if it provides clarity, incentives and speed for industrial investment.

5. What would success look like for CirCular in the next five to ten years?

Success starts with delivering the project safely, efficiently, and successfully.

In five to ten years, we want CirCular to be recognized as one of Europe's benchmark projects for urban mining and critical raw materials recycling. A facility that demonstrates how industrial-scale recycling can strengthen competitiveness, sustainability, and resource security simultaneously.

We also see CirCular as the foundation for a broader growth platform. Beyond the initial project, Atlantic Copper is already evaluating opportunities linked to increased recycling capacity, battery-grade nickel sulphate production, precious metals recovery and other value-added activities.

From a European perspective, success would mean contributing meaningfully to the CRMA targets and helping establish Europe as a global leader in advanced recycling technologies. From a local perspective, it would mean creating skilled jobs, attracting investment, and reinforcing Huelva's position as a strategic industrial hub.

Ultimately, success is not only measured in tonnes of recovered metal. It is measured in Europe's ability to transform waste into a strategic opportunity.

About Macarena Gutiérrez

Macarena Gutiérrez is the Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Copper, a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan, a role she has held since April 2025. She is also an Independent Director of DKV Seguros and Chair of its Appointments and Remuneration Committee.

Find out more about the CirCular Project.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of EIT RawMaterials.