Company Information
Owner of the Document: Elcowire GmbH
Lichtöcherberg 40
D-06333 Hettstedt, Germany
The document owner has the sole ownership and responsibility.
Contact Information: Sustainability Manager: Jonas Ciardi
+46 707 614 726
jonas.ciardi@elcowire.com
Description of the Organisation: Elcowire is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of copper wire rods, wires, stranded conductors, profiles, and overhead catenary systems made from copper, copper alloys, and aluminum, with an annual production of approximately 300,000 metric tons. The profiles can be formed into any shape and dimension. Elcowire also produces aluminum conductors, rectangular wire, and profiles for electrical applications.
Elcowire is driven by a commitment to continuous improvement, always keeping the customer at the forefront. This results in high-quality products, reliability, meticulous attention to detail, and a strong technical partnership. The business is organized into five units: Rod, Rail, High Voltage, Specials, and Wires & Strands.
Product-related or Management System-related Certifications: ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Name and Location of Production site(s): Elcowire Group has production plants in Helsingborg, Sweden and Hettstedt, Germany. This document concerns Elcowire GmbHs production plant in Hettstedt.
Difference versus Previous Version
This document is the 1st version.
Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
Elcowire offers customers the opportunity to buy Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper (LCC) LCC is made possible through production that has undergone a substantial transformation due to electrification and automation of various stages of the process. The LCC has also been made possible by a very efficient ore concentration process and a world-class green energy mix. The result is Wires & Strands with a low impact on nature and the climate.
Elcowire applies the Mass Balance Approach (MBA), which enables allocation of specific characteristics (like biobased material or recycled content) to products from a manufacturing process without making complicated changes of the production infrastructure. Thus, copper with different specific characteristics is, within the production environment, mixed causing them to no longer be traceable directly to the source. However, by tracking the amount of each input material and the amount of product output, it is possible to estimate the amount of each input material that is used in the production of the final product.
This document provides information about Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper.
Elcowire’s Mass Balance Approach
In Elcowire’s Mass Balance Approach (MBA), the copper cathodes are grouped into three categories (LCC, 100% Recycled Copper and Standard Copper) based on the suppliers’ climate impact cradle-to-suppliers gate with respect to the principles below:
• Principle 1: Copper cathodes whose climate impact is equal to or less than 1.5 kg CO2e/kg from cradle to supplier’s gate, are categorized as either LCC or Standard.
• Principle 2: Copper cathodes consisting of 100% recycled copper are categorized as 100% Recycled or Standard.
• Principle 3: Copper cathodes that meet both the criteria of Principle 1 and Principle 2 are categorized as LCC, 100% Recycled or Standard.
• Principle 4: Copper cathodes that do not meet the criteria of Principle 1 and Principle 2 are categorized as Standard.
Note that the principles apply for cradle-to-suppliers gate, i.e., the climate impact from transportation of copper cathodes from the suppliers to Elcowire’s production site is outside the categorization.
Elcowire collects specific data on cradle-to-suppliers gate climate impact in kg CO2 eq./kg copper cathode, recycled content and transportation from supplier to Elcowire’s production site. If the supplier cannot provide specific data for cradle-to-suppliers gate climate impact, global average is assumed according to the International Copper Association. The same principle applies for recycled content where Elcowire assumes a recycled content of zero if the supplier cannot support with a certificate. For Elcowire, materials are classified as recycled content if they originate from or have previously been designated as waste material. The definition includes activities for waste management and recycling but excludes production waste that is reutilized within the same production process that generated it, as well as reconditioned and repaired products that remain in active use.
The MBA is based on planned volumes for 2025 while the actual volumes is followed up via book-keeping with a reconciliation period of three months. The actual volumes are scaled up year-to-year to compare the climate impact between planned and actual volumes. If there is a mismatch of 10 % for the climate impact, a recalculation of the mass balance is actualized. However, the copper cathodes are contractually purchased on an annual basis, and deviations are small.
The copper cathodes are sorted into three categories (LCC, 100% Recycled Copper, and Standard Copper) with respect to principles 1, 2, 3 and 4. Subsequently, weighted averages are derived for each category, considering the
cradle-to-suppliers gate climate impact, emissions related to transportation from the supplier to Elcowire’s production site, and the planned volumes for 2024. The recycled content for each category is calculated by dividing the recycled fraction with the total volume of copper cathodes per category
Product Information
Name of Product Group: Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
General Product Description: Elcowire's production facility for wires and strands is equipped to manufacture drawn wires for specialized applications, including oxygen-free, high-conductivity copper wire with a copper content exceeding 99.95% with bare or tinned surface. These products are commonly used in cables for the electrical and automotive industries, as well as in telecommunications. Furthermore, these products are used as electric conductors in welding applications.
All products are delivered in custom-designed, compliant, and secure packaging that ensure shape retention and maintains the product’s quality after leaving the production site. Upon request, seaworthy packaging is available, along with tailored packaging solutions based on customer-specific technical drawings.
Products are supplied in all standard sizes and can also be manufactured in alternative specifications and materials upon request.
Typical Areas of Use:
• Primary material
• Lightning protection / earthing
• Power engineering
• Heavy current engineering
• Solar power
• Wind power
• Offshore / submarine cables
• Automotives, rail, aviation, space travel
• Low and high-frequency cables
• Packaging industry (copper welding wire)
Single and Multiple Wire: Elcowire operates a fully integrated production process, enabling a closed production cycle. The facility is capable of manufacturing drawn wire with diameters ranging from 4.6 mm down to 0.05 mm. Advanced upstream technologies ensure that each application receives precisely the right material, contributing to the setting of industry standards. Elcowire offers semi-finished products at various stages of completion, providing customers with the flexibility to manage their own production processes and gain a competitive advantage.
Stranded Wire: Stranded wires, wire ropes, and stranded wire ropes are available in cross-sections ranging from 0.05 mm² to 1000 mm², tailored to meet customer-specific requirements. These products are critical components in a wide range of sectors, including power engineering, high-voltage applications, renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro), offshore and submarine cables, IT and telecommunications, e-mobility, automotive, rail, aviation, space technology, and many more.
Product Specifications: For single and multiple wires, the drawn copper wires are compliant with EN 13602. For bunches, strands and ropes, the drawn copper wires are compliant with EN 60288.
LCA Information
Type of ESD: ESD of multiple products, based on the average results of the product group The average is weighted according to the production volumes
Declared Unit: 1 kg of the product group Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
Packaging material consists of steel, aluminum, wood, plastic, cardboard and paper.
Time Representativeness: Process data are representative for 2023, while the procurement of copper cathodes is based on planned volumes for 2025
Database and LCA Software: Ecoinvent 3.10 and SimaPro 9.6.0.1
Description of System Boundaries: Cradle to gate with modules C1–C4 and module D (A1–A3 + C + D)1. See Figure 1 for a representation of the system boundaries and modules declared.
1 Equal to EPDs produced in accordance with the EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 standard.
System Boundaries:
Figure 1 System boundaries and modules declared. Glo, EU and DE refer to Global, European Union, and Germany. G and S refer to generic and specific.
Estimate and Assumption: Electricity, heat, chemicals, water usage, waste, packaging materials and pallets were calculated as weighted averages based on process data for 2023 The distance for transportation of packaging materials in module A2 was assumed to be 300 km, while the transportation of copper in module C2 was assumed to be 35 km. All transportation was assumed to be carried out with a EURO VI truck. The electricity in the core manufacturing process, module A3, was modelled with an Ecoinvent market process representing the production mix in Germany.
Cut-off Criteria: All known inputs and outputs are included in the system boundary apart from the environmental impact of raw material supply of tin in the product variants that contain tin. However, all types of environmental impact from tinning in the core manufacturing process are included.
Data Quality: Specific data was used for global warming potential of copper cathodes cradle-to-suppliers gate as well as transportation of copper cathodes from the supplier to Elcowire’s production facility. Upstream waste from copper production in A1 is based on reference values from the International Copper Association. All data in the core manufacturing process is specific and the data should be considered very good. Generic upstream data are used for energy wares and auxiliary materials that are from Ecoinvent 3.10.
Dangerous Substances: No dangerous substances from the candidate list of SVHC for authorization are included in the products.
Scenario Based Calculation
Module C and D are calculated based on a scenario.
Module C – Only copper is taken into consideration in module C, therefore there is no impact in C1.
The copper is assumed to be transported 35 kilometers by a EURO VI truck from the site to a recycling center (C2). As only the copper is being considered, no processing before recycling is necessary. In C3, the packaging materials of steel are assumed to be recycled, while packaging materials made of wood, paper and plastic are assumed to be incinerated.
No disposal occurs for the products, thus there is no impact on C4.
Module D – The copper is recycled, and the packaging material is energy recovered However, only primary copper is considered as a benefit beyond the system boundaries. The recycled copper replaces virgin material of copper, and the energy recovered packaging material contribute with electricity to the European electricity grid. Therefore, both the copper and the packaging material contribute positively beyond the system boundary.
Environmental Information
The results for the product group declared are presented in the tables below. For module A1-A3, the climate impact for the GWP-GHG indicator is equal to 2.21 kgCO2e/declared unit. For information on the climate impact of each product variant included in the product group Wires & Strands, see section Additional Environmental Information.
Potential Environmental Impact
Results per kg of the product group Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
EP-freshwater kg P eq.
EP-terrestrial mol N eq.
minerals&metals* kg Sb
Acronyms
GWP-fossil = Global Warming Potential fossil fuels; GWP-biogenic = Global Warming Potential biogenic; GWP-luluc = Global Warming Potential land use and land use change; ODP = Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer; AP = Acidification potential, Accumulated Exceedance; EP-freshwater = Eutrophication potential, fraction of nutrients reaching freshwater end compartment; EP-marine = Eutrophication potential, fraction of nutrients reaching marine end compartment; EP-terrestrial = Eutrophication potential, Accumulated Exceedance; POCP = Formation potential of tropospheric ozone; ADP-minerals&metals = Abiotic depletion potential for non-fossil resources; ADP-fossil = Abiotic depletion for fossil resources potential; WDP = Water (user) deprivation potential, deprivation-weighted water consumption
* Disclaimer: The results of this environmental impact indicator shall be used with care as the uncertainties of these results are high or as there is limited experience with the indicator.
Potential Environmental Impact
Results per kg of the product group Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
2 The indicator includes all greenhouse gases included in GWP-total but excludes biogenic carbon dioxide uptake and emissions and biogenic carbon stored in the product. This indicator is thus almost equal to the GWP indicator originally defined in EN 15804:2012+A1:2013.
Resource Use Results per kg of the product group Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
Acronyms
PERE = Use of renewable primary energy excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PERM = Use of renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PERT = Total use of renewable primary energy resources; PENRE = Use of non-renewable primary energy excluding nonrenewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PENRM = Use of non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PENRT = Total use of non-renewable primary energy re-sources; SM = Use of secondary material; RSF = Use of renewable secondary fuels; NRSF = Use of non-renewable secondary fuels; FW = Use of net fresh water
Waste Categories
Results per kg of the product group Wires & Strands
with Low Carbon Copper
Output Flows
Results per kg of the product group Wires & Strands with Low Carbon Copper
Information on Biogenic Carbon Content
