By: Energy capital & power

Europe’s strategy to secure strategic supply chains for its energy transition is gaining momentum, with a landmark EU-South Africa agreement from November 2025 signaling a significant shift in policy. Instead of exporting raw ore, the pact focuses on processing and adding value to critical minerals within Africa itself. Under the agreement, the EU is committing €750 million through its Global Gateway initiative to support infrastructure, clean energy, and industrialization projects on the continent.

This change aligns with broader market dynamics, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company forming a joint venture with Swiss firm Mercuria Energy Trading to enhance transparency and domestic value retention. These moves reflect a growing push for resource-rich African nations to capture more economic benefit from their mineral wealth amid rising global demand for battery metals and other critical materials.

The evolving partnership is driven by mutual strategic needs: Europe seeks to diversify its supply chains away from concentrated processing hubs in Asia, while Africa aims to foster industrialization, job creation, and technology transfer. This integrated approach links mineral refining with clean energy infrastructure and broader industrial planning, aligning economic goals with climate and development objectives.

To translate these high-level commitments into action, the upcoming Invest in African Energy (IAE) Forum in Paris in April 2026 will convene stakeholders to address key challenges. The forum will focus on structuring fair offtake agreements, scaling sustainable financing models, and developing regulatory frameworks for transparent and climate-aligned mineral value chains.