As Europe races to gain an edge in the global critical materials market and reduce its reliance on China, Poland's largest recycling company stands to be a direct beneficiary. Pawel Jarski, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Elemental Group, announced that the company will invest $8 billion, with two-thirds allocated to building a copper smelting and refining plant, and the remaining funds directed towards a factory specializing in the recycling and refining of electric vehicle battery metals. Collectively dubbed "Polvolt," these projects have already secured funding support from the European Union and the Polish government, aligning closely with the EU's strategic objective of building a domestic critical raw materials industry. Currently, China dominates the global production of rare metals, which are core components for electric vehicles, energy production, and the defense sector. "Our focus for the first three to four years is on copper and e-waste recycling—this is our core expertise, and the market is very mature," said the 46-year-old Jarski in an interview. Copper prices hit a record high Jarski revealed that Elemental is seeking a minority equity partner for its copper project, which will likely come from Asia. He added that the planned plant will also refine silver, gold, and other rare earth elements. Currently, the rapid development of artificial intelligence is driving a surge in demand for copper, a key material for data centers and electronic devices. "The copper market is currently characterized by excess demand; there are several times more buyers than sellers. The market's upward momentum will only intensify," Jarski pointed out. Electric vehicle battery sector Against the backdrop of a turbulent transformation in the automotive industry, the prospects for EV battery recycling have become more complex: although battery manufacturing (including factories in Poland) is expanding rapidly, its demand is experiencing extreme volatility. Elemental's joint venture plant with US-based Ascend Elements in southern Poland can already produce "black mass" from used batteries—a powdered material containing valuable metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel. However, the plant's current capacity utilization is only about 50%, with the majority of its product shipped to Chinese facilities for further processing to recover high-value metals. The goal of this investment project is to achieve localized production from recycling through to refining—provided it can achieve cost-effectiveness. Return to the stock market Elemental delisted from the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2021. Should its copper and EV battery projects succeed, it could pave the way for the company's return to the public markets. The company's current shareholders include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Polish state development fund PFR SA. Jarski stated that the new investments must reach an advanced stage before investors can accurately value the company. He added that a listing in Amsterdam would likely be the "rational choice," potentially happening in as soon as three years. He anticipates that once the new projects are fully operational, Elemental's current annual revenue of approximately $3 billion could double within the next five years. Part of the logic behind this optimistic forecast is that rising trade protectionism will lead countries and economic blocs to seek supply chain security to protect domestic industries, resulting in increasingly restrictive trade for critical materials. "Cross-continental exports are facing more and more restrictions, and the situation is becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, having local processing capacity has become the most sensible strategic choice," Jarski noted.
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