Canada and Germany Joint Critical Minerals Cooperation Declaration

The Department of Natural Resources (NRCan) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) issued a Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) to cooperate on critical minerals, focusing on midstream technologies, supply-chain resilience, and coordinated financing.

• Main announcement/action: The JDI establishes cooperation to promote and strengthen trade and cooperation across the critical minerals value chain, with emphasis on midstream technologies (processing, refining, recycling) and priority minerals (Lithium, Rare Earth Elements, Copper, Tungsten, Gallium, Germanium, Nickel); the lead entities will establish a Task Force on Critical Minerals Cooperation to follow up on implementation. Note: This JDI is not legally binding and does not create any financial commitment.
• Background and implementation details: The JDI builds on the Canada-Germany Energy Partnership, Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance, EU-Canada Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials, and the G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan; it calls for exploring co-investment and blended financing mechanisms using tools such as the German Raw Materials Fund (KfW) and Canada’s Clean Growth and Strategic Innovation Funds, coordinating policy/regulatory alignment on ESG, traceability, and permitting, and may invite industry, Indigenous communities, and academia to participate; funding is subject to availability of appropriated funds and respective domestic laws and regulations.