On balance, you would think we have to be a strategic partner of the EU's CRMA.
To make these partnerships a success, the EU should:
1. Cultivate more Strategic Partnerships, with a diverse set of partner countries and
clear prioritisation of the critical minerals needed: alongside high social and
environmental criteria, laser sharp focus is needed. E.g. Europe will need a lot more
battery metals than green hydrogen in the next decade.
2. Foster local green industrial value chains and responsible sourcing practices in
resource-rich countries: this includes developing processing and manufacturing
activities, genuine technology transfer, local labour force upskilling, as well as capacity
building activities.
3. Establish a robust funding framework, including fresh money via the Global Gateway
initiative and a dedicated CRM fund: The EU should financially support these initiatives
through guarantees, grants and loans, making projects abroad not only attractive but also
economically viable and scalable. A dedicated fund is needed to de-risk projects and build
technical and regulatory capacity in strategic partnership countries.
4. Bring EU companies on board: having Europe's cleantech companies on board with
long-term offtake agreements, as well as support with technology and skills expertise, is
paramount to the success of strategic partnership
Point 1...tick AU/EU partnership
Point 2 ...tick Local Green Industry
Point 3...tick EU to financially support
Point 4...tick Europe cleantech company's- Ionic Tech with long term offtakes.
We tick all the boxes...and when you read the criterea, I am sure many of us are thinking-
Cmon EU, what are you waiting for???
Indeed most governments are guilty of the lots of words but not enough action agenda.
Just wondering what could help push our funding requests through???
With any investment, they would want to see strict fiscal management, to ensure taxpayers money is not lost.
They may want to see a quarter or 2 of belt tightening, downsizing, staff reduction and salary cuts before committing.
They may also want to see a move of our main office to Belfast, with the Melbourne office just held for ASX listing purposes.
But I think most of all they would want to see the private sector such as Ford, LCM, etc....make am investment, as validation of their DD.
Although times seem dark now, we may see a flurry of announcements, or one big one wrapped up in a neat package with government funding, private sector investment and finance all sorted in one hit.
I just cant shake the feeling that something is happening in the background.
Put it this way, all actions and optics point to a company on the move and looking to execute on their strategy.
Remember, they would have a strategy in place to navigate these turbulent waters that we are not privvy to.
And when its dark and you cant see the path forward,it gets tough and scary and you start jumping at shadows...
But when the path is illuminated, all fears subside, and you begin to move forward confidently and with gusto.
That's where we are now...
Lets hope this can get done soon and we can move on...
Anyway, just my opinion...
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