Canada, Germany Forge Critical Minerals Pact to Bolster Energy Ties

Canada is set to deepen its energy relationship with Germany through a new critical minerals partnership that will jointly finance natural resource projects, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced during his European tour.

The deal aims to boost the development of key Canadian minerals like nickel and cobalt, sectors long underdeveloped as China and Russia dominate the global supply chain. The partnership will also expand cooperation on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen energy.

Carney emphasized the strategic importance of securing reliable energy and mineral supplies to support the clean energy transition. Earlier today, Carney met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to finalize the agreement and discuss global challenges, including the war in Ukraine.

Both leaders reaffirmed that decisions on Ukraine’s future must fully involve the country, underscoring their united stance on energy security and geopolitical stability.

Critical minerals - nickel, cobalt, rare earths, lithium - sit at the intersection of the energy transition and geopolitical realignment. G7 economies are actively diversifying supply chains away from Chinese processing and Russian extraction, and Canada's endowment in nickel and cobalt makes it a natural partner for Germany's industrial and automotive sectors as EV and battery capacity scale.

The pact's dual channel - critical minerals plus LNG and hydrogen cooperation - reflects the reality that energy security and clean-energy transition are increasingly co-planned rather than sequenced. For Canadian producers, joint financing arrangements with a large European offtaker can materially reduce project development risk; for German industry, secured mineral supply insulates against upstream supply shocks.

For mining, EV, battery and industrial clients navigating the new critical-minerals landscape, Cognitud's supply chain and operations, market intelligence and sustainability due diligence teams support supplier evaluation, ESG due diligence aligned with IRMA and OECD standards, and disclosure frameworks that increasingly determine which mineral supply chains can access Western capital markets and preferred customer relationships.