Qatar will invest $180 million in a Europe-based critical minerals investment company, joining the U.S. development bank in supporting the firm that invests in key metals for the energy transition outside China.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund, said on Wednesday it would invest $180 million in TechMet, an investment company focused on building businesses across the critical minerals value chain, from extraction and processing to refining and recycling.
With the funds, Qatar’s wealth fund will become one of the largest investors in TechMet, adding to existing investments from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and S2G Ventures.
The U.S. is already backing several mining companies and investment vehicles focused on critical mineral supply and the value chain in America and Australia as it looks to support the provision of key metals from countries other than China.
The Qatari investment in the firm also backed by the U.S. development finance corporation is a significant strategic move, as Qatar is a key U.S. ally in the Gulf, but also on very good terms with China, which is a major buyer of Qatar’s LNG.
“A major sovereign investor coming in alongside the U.S. Government accelerates our ability to scale and expand the portfolio and build significant value across critical minerals supply chains,” said TechMet founder, chairman and CEO, Brian Menell.
According to Menell, the investment is also an acknowledgment of the U.S. that support for critical mineral supply from outside China’s sphere of influence needs partnerships.
“The recognition that this needs to be in partnership with allies and sources of funding from allies is growing and will increasingly be a key element of how US interests are progressed globally,” Menell told the Financial Times.
The U.S. has acknowledged that it cannot beat China’s dominance with domestic supply only and that it cannot be done with U.S. backing and funding alone, Menell added.
TechMet has already invested more than $450 million into critical minerals projects in its portfolio of assets across North and South America, Europe, and Africa.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Lead image (Credit: Oil Price)
