Frankfurt a. M., 03/07/2025: The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) published a guest article by Stefan Liebing and Holger Bingmann. In it, both entrepreneurs explain how Germany can secure its access to critical raw materials in the long term – in particular by investing in Africa.
In the face of global supply uncertainties and increasing geopolitical dependence, for example on China, the authors emphasize the need for a strategic rethink in German development and economic policy. The coalition agreement already specifies that development policy should be more closely aligned with national interests – in particular with the goal of securing access to raw materials for German industry. However, concrete measures have not yet been taken.
Liebing and Bingmann demand that political declarations of intent be followed by action. If Germany wants to source critical raw materials such as cobalt or rare earths increasingly from African countries in the future, appeals to industry alone will not be enough. Rather, investment measures are necessary – despite the complex conditions in high-risk countries.
The authors make three concrete proposals on how such raw material security can be achieved:
- Backward integration by individual companies: Large corporations could – similar to what BASF once did with Wintershall – establish their own structures for raw material procurement and invest in African mines themselves. The authors cite the automotive industry as a difficult example, as hardly any company would want to operate cobalt mines in Congo.
- Joint industry solution: A group of interested companies could establish a joint raw materials company, pool capital, and conclude long-term purchase agreements. This would allow the risk to be spread and the development of supply chains to be managed in a more targeted manner.
- State-owned raw materials company: The federal government itself could set up a raw materials company, act as a strategic investor, and secure access to critical raw materials in close coordination with African governments. This would also require the issue to be more firmly anchored in German foreign policy.
Both authors favor a shift from symbolic development policy to active raw materials security with a clear division of tasks between the economy and the state, with concrete investments in the extraction of raw materials.
Source (german): https://www.faz.net/pro/weltwirtschaft/klima-ressourcen/zugang-zu-rohstoffen-deutschland-muss-in-afrikas-minen-investieren-110566795.html