Australia and Germany have inked a joint Declaration of Intent to create new opportunities for critical minerals projects to meet climate and energy commitments.
The Declaration was signed on Thursday, 6 April 2023, by Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr Franziska Brantner.
The Declaration will support a joint study to assist Australia in meeting its ambitions to develop value-added industries based on critical minerals, including extraction, refinement, and recycling, and assist Germany in securing reliable supplies of critical minerals to support its manufacturing and recycling activities.
“Both Australia and Germany recognise the important opportunity we have to build diverse, resilient and sustainable critical minerals value chains,” Minister King said.
According to the Minister, Australia has significant amounts of critical minerals that are required for clean-energy technology, such as electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines.
“Both countries have complementary climate, energy and strategic ambitions. The Declaration of Intent with Germany will help us understand which critical minerals are most important to support Germany’s industries and how Australia can be a partner of choice in meeting these needs,” Minister King added.
Minister King will announce Australia’s new Critical Minerals Strategy later this year, which will help the industry flourish and reflect critical minerals’ crucial role in Australia’s goal to net zero emissions by 2050.
