The metals sector is a Market Changer for METLEN, which is expected to be strengthened with total investments of 970 million euros by 2028, of which 500 million euros have been earmarked for the new business unit called Circular Metals with an emphasis on Circular Metallurgy and the exploitation of METLEN’s world-class innovative know-how for the production of metals from recycled secondary raw materials, a Game Changer for the Greek group.
As emphasized by METLEN’s President and CEO, Evangelos Mytilineos, in the context of Capital Market Day in London, “METLEN is entering a new era. With strategic investments in critical raw materials, circular metallurgy and defense – combined with our strong foundations in renewables, bauxite, alumina and aluminum, as well as infrastructure and concessions, we are uniquely positioned to meet Europe’s ever-changing industrial needs and, in doing so, achieve EBITDA of 2 billion euros in the medium term.”
International Pioneer
METLEN with Circular Metals is launching a fully patented metal recovery technology, aiming to produce new metal oxides from secondary sources of supply such as industrial by-products. This process will produce a series of critical raw materials included in the EU CRM Act list as well as basic metals, reducing the strategic dependence on traditional mining and the cost of production.
According to Dimitris Stefanidis, Chief Executive Director in Metallurgy at Metlen Energy & Metals, the value of metals that can be recovered is estimated at 10 billion euros per year and METLEN’s technology allows the simultaneous recovery of various metals at rates of 98%, at low cost, since there is no mining and electrolysis, as in primary production, and at the same time zero emission of pollutants.
In this context, the company is focusing on the creation of two factories, one in Sindos, Thessaloniki, where its pilot operation has begun and will produce nickel, copper, cobalt, iron, magnesium, and one in Romania for the production of zinc, copper, iron, silicon. And then the recovery of scandium and germanium using the same method.
The investment is estimated to generate EBITDA of 220 million euros per year with a production of 290,000 tons of metals per year. According to Mytilineos, secondary raw materials (industrial residues) contain quantities of critical raw materials that are valuable as long as you can get them, without the risk of high costs and price volatility that always accompany commodities.
With regard to the 296-million-euro investment program, announced earlier this year, METLEN becomes the only gallium producer in Europe, able to replace imports from China and support European technological supply chains, strengthens its position as a leading alumina producer in Europe, and further expands its bauxite mining capabilities, having the largest production capacity in the EU. The amount of 90 million euros for this specific investment will come from grants, while Europe’s financial response is expected.
Defense
In the defense sector, METLEN is based on 5 new production facilities in the Volos region with an emphasis on defense metallurgical constructions as well as new collaborations with European defense and innovation programs. The company’s defense sector is looking forward to an EBITDA of approximately 150 million euros in the medium term, through the expansion of production capacity, modernization, repair and reconstruction as well as through the exploitation of new technologies and expansion into new sectors, such as unmanned systems.
