COP27: European Union concludes a strategic partnership with Kazakhstan on raw materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen

8 Nov 2022 01:17 PM

Attending the COP27 in Egypt, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Alikhan Smailov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a partnership between the EU and Kazakhstan.

The agreement aims to ensure the development of a secure and sustainable supply of raw materials and refined materials. It also aims to develop renewable hydrogen and battery value chains, to boost the green and digital transformation of both sides' economies.

President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen yesterday said:

“A secure and sustainable supply of raw materials, refined materials and renewable hydrogen is a key layer to help build a new, cleaner foundation for our economies, especially as we move away from our dependency on fossil fuels. This partnership with Kazakhstan shows Europe's commitment to work with partner countries on our shared commitments to a greener and more resilient future in line with the Global Gateway Strategy and the objectives of the REPowerEU Plan. I would like to thank Prime Minister Smailov of Kazakhstan for his efforts and look forward to our cooperation.”

The partnership is centred around three areas of collaboration:

• Closer economic and industrial integration in the strategic value chains of raw materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen through, among others:
  • Identifying joint projects throughout the respective value chains including recycling and attracting private investment;
  • Aligning high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards;
  • Modernisation of mining and refining processes and technologies through the introduction of new technologies and sustainable practices.
• Increasing the resilience of raw material, battery and renewable hydrogen supply chains through, among others:
  • Enhancing the transparency and information on measures related to investment, operations and exports relevant to the scope of this partnership.
• Closer bilateral cooperation on capacity-building, skills and research & innovation on topics through, among others:
  • Decarbonisation of the critical raw materials value chain including by using renewable energy and digitalisation;
  • Greening and sustainability of mining processes;
  • Management of industrial mineral waste and extraction of critical raw materials from them.

The EU and Kazakhstan have committed to develop a Roadmap for 2023-2024, with concrete joint actions agreed within six months of the signature of the Partnership. These actions are to be carried out in close cooperation with relevant industrial and financial stakeholders from the EU Member States and Kazakhstan.

Tomorrow, President von der Leyen will meet with President of Namibia Hage Geingob to sign a similar partnership between the European Union and Namibia.

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