This article was the Topic of the Week in the newsletter of week 3 in 2026.

Raw Material Dependencies – Germany's Achilles' Heel?

As the world's third-largest economy, Germany relies heavily on a steady and affordable raw material supply. Over 90 per cent of metallic raw materials are imported. Geopolitical upheavals and export restrictions, such as from China on critical raw materials like rare earths, highlight the vulnerabilities of the German economy. Entire key industries depend on these raw materials. Without such critical components, many production lines would come to a halt. An average electric car contains 5 kilograms of rare earths, while a modern wind turbine requires at least 250 kilograms.

Diversification Through Partnerships

Germany and Europe have already established many raw material partnerships with resource-rich countries. However, these are barely supported by concrete projects and investments. The German resource strategy reaches its limits here. The federal government should engage more closely with the private sector on development cooperation and trade policy and advance pilot projects with partner countries. This would sustainably improve the supply situation in Germany and foster economic development in partner countries on the ground.

At the same time, it is crucial to resolve existing goal conflicts regarding due diligence obligations and a resilient raw material supply: High bureaucracy costs and legal uncertainties due to EU due diligence obligations make it difficult for companies to establish new sources in high-risk countries and invest there.

Resilience Through Domestic Resources

Despite the high import rates, Germany is not necessarily a resource-poor country. Initiatives by the federal government and the European Commission, such as the "Critical Raw Materials Act", aim to strengthen domestic mining and processing of raw materials in respective EU member states. But more is needed – urgently, such as reducing bureaucratic hurdles, introducing binding deadlines, and establishing a central digital one-stop shop that facilitates access to raw materials for companies through digitalisation and process consolidation.

Measures such as state storage of resources are critically assessed: Further state interventions in already volatile markets would cause even stronger distortions. New price peaks could ultimately worsen the supply situation for companies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Promoting the Circular Economy

By 2030, 25 per cent of the demand for critical raw materials should come from recycling. To increase resilience through the recycling of raw materials, the promised accelerated approval procedures and simpler, more transparent funding criteria must be implemented in practice.

To create a competitive and scalable circular economy, existing funding and innovation programmes for raw material projects should also be opened. Germany is already a leader in extracting raw materials from stockpiles – potentials like these should be further exploited.

Expanding Financing Options

Resilience comes at a price. The federal government's raw material fund is a first and important step to support investments in a resilient supply. Public-private partnerships should be utilised as additional tools. Countries like Japan have already created functioning structures in this regard; Germany and Europe must now catch up in this area. Additionally, the allocation procedures of the German raw materials fund should be simplified, and the commissioning of fund management by private specialists should be considered.