Ressources: Germany and Canada cooperating

Germany and Canada have agreed on a raw materials partnership. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Katharina Reiche (CDU) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Minister of Economy Tim Hodgson. The aim is closer cooperation in the extraction, processing and recycling of critical raw materials. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney had reaffirmed the initiative earlier at a meeting in Berlin.

The focus is on raw materials for batteries, wind turbines and electric motors – including lithium, rare earth elements, copper, nickel and cobalt. Germany currently procures these materials mainly from China, which has recently introduced export controls for some rare earths. The government is therefore increasing its search for alternative sources.

Carney emphasized that Canada has large reserves of these metals and wants to participate in the repositioning. He also announced that in the coming weeks a three-digit million amount would be invested to expand port capacities on Canada’s east coast. Among others, the facilities in Montréal and Churchill are to be modernized to facilitate exports of raw materials to Europe.

Already in 2022, Reiche’s predecessor, Robert Habeck (Greens), and Olaf Scholz (SPD), signed a comparable cooperation agreement with Canada, at that time focusing on the future export of hydrogen to Germany.

MK