Strengthened Cooperation Between Canada and France in Critical Minerals Sector

30 Sep, 2023

Strengthened Cooperation Between Canada and France in Critical Minerals Sector

In a significant move towards advancing global efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the governments of Canada and France have come together to strengthen their bilateral cooperation on critical minerals. These vital metals and minerals play a pivotal role in enabling the world to transition to clean energy and sustainable technologies.

Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, and France's Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, have outlined three key objectives for their collaborative efforts:

Securing Critical Minerals Supplies and Promoting Investment: The first objective involves ensuring a stable supply of critical minerals from both Canada and France. This collaboration aims to attract investment into the critical minerals sector, fortifying the supply chain for these essential resources.
Industrial and Academic Research and Development: The second goal is to foster joint industrial and academic research and development endeavors. By pooling their expertise, Canada and France seek to drive innovation and technological advancements in the critical minerals sector.
Enhancing Global ESG Standards: The third objective focuses on elevating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in the mining, processing, and recycling of critical raw materials. This commitment underscores the importance of responsible and sustainable practices in the critical minerals industry.

Minister Wilkinson emphasized Canada's potential as a global supplier of choice for critical minerals and clean energy technologies, highlighting the importance of collaborating with like-minded nations such as France. This partnership not only bolsters supply chains but also supports job creation and investment on both sides of the Atlantic.

This cooperative effort builds upon previous agreements and aligns with the objectives of the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials, established in June 2021. It reflects a shared commitment to securing critical mineral resources for a sustainable and greener future.

In a related development, Canada recently signed a similar agreement with Japan to establish sustainable and reliable global battery supply chains. Additionally, South Korea's Solus Advanced Materials is set to build a copper foil facility in Quebec, Canada, dedicated to producing technology for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This comes in tandem with the news of Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturing giant, planning to construct a multibillion-dollar EV battery plant in Quebec, marking the company's first facility outside of Europe.

The collaborative efforts of Canada and France, along with these recent developments, underscore the global commitment to a sustainable energy transition and the critical role that minerals and batteries play in achieving a net-zero emissions future.