GERMANY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Stefan Altenschmidt, Pauline Müller and Ina Schwanke, Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Outlook The described recent political and legal developments in Germany are driving structural changes in the coun - try’s mining sector. German objectives under its Raw Materials Strategy, together with the EU’s CRMA framework, contribute to a more positive framing of raw materials, which is crucial for gaining social acceptance for resource extraction. Public percep - tion is slowly but gradually shifting: while mining was previously often viewed critically due to environmental concerns, there is growing recognition of the impor - tance of domestic extraction of critical and green raw materials under environmental standards. Nevertheless, mining projects still face challenges. New initiatives, such as lithium extraction, are con - fronted with high investment costs, technological complexities, environmental concerns and regulatory hurdles, all of which can hinder project development and implementation. To address these issues, co- ordinated efforts between government, industry and research institutions are essential. Innovations in sus - tainable extraction technologies, streamlined permit - ting processes, and clear investment incentives can help mitigate risks and improve project feasibility. Mining companies should pursue their goals with a clear strategic plan, carefully addressing the relevant technical, economic, environmental and legal issues.
extraction of lithium in Germany. Particularly advanced are projects in which the mineral is extracted from circulating deep water using direct lithium extraction. This technology is considered to be significantly more environmentally friendly than conventional mining methods, as it does not require large-scale interven - tion in the landscape, consumes less water and can be integrated into existing geothermal plants. One major project is currently being developed in the Upper Rhine Graben. It involves the construction of both a large-scale extraction plant and a refinery for processing the extracted material into lithium hydrox - ide. The planned production capacities should be suf - ficient in the long term to enable the manufacture of batteries for several hundred thousand electric vehi - cles per year. The project is supported by national and European funding instruments, and is considered an important building block for strengthening raw materi - als sovereignty and establishing an independent bat - tery value chain in the EU. Germany’s Raw Materials Fund Among the national financiers of the described lithium project is the Raw Materials Fund, established by the Federal Government in 2024. As the implementation of strategic raw material projects requires substan - tial investments, the Federal Government tasked the Credit Institute for Reconstruction (KfW) with estab - lishing the Raw Materials Fund to reduce dependen - cies on critical raw materials. The Fund aims to enable the German government to participate either directly or through guarantees in new raw material extraction projects, providing German companies with alterna - tive supply partners. The Fund’s resources are intended to support projects domestically and in the EU that enhance raw material supply security and promote the extraction, process - ing and recycling of critical or strategic raw materials, as defined by the CRMA. Financing per project typi - cally ranges from EUR50 million to EUR150 million, with a total investment volume of approximately EUR1 billion.
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