Vertex Material Targets Global Copper Supply Gap with Proprietary Composite Technology

Vertex Material, a Malaysian advanced-materials company, is tackling the global copper supply gap through its proprietary composite technology. The technology combines copper with waste-derived composite material to produce a copper-composite that contains approximately 70% copper.

The composite serves applications where pure copper is not technically required but specific levels of electrical conductivity, heat transfer, strength, or machinability are needed. This allows Vertex Material to produce more usable material from a given amount of raw copper while meeting exact engineering specifications for various industrial components.

According to the International Energy Agency's Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025, mine supply from existing and announced projects could fall approximately 25% short of primary copper requirements by 2035. Vertex Material CEO Chris Lai stated that 'copper availability is becoming an increasingly important consideration for manufacturers in various industries.'

The company has signed an offtake agreement with a distributor for 160,000 MT of copper-composite material annually and plans to establish a US facility with a planned annual production capacity of one million MT. The facility fit-out is targeted to be completed by the second half of 2027, and commercial production is expected in 2028.