Western Australian investment opportunities in the spotlight in Germany

Director-General of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation visits Frankfurt

by Vanessa Rehn,

Director-General Rebecca Brown and Deputy Director-General Simone Spencer visited Frankfurt on 5 and 6 September. Together with Vanessa Rehn and Alisza Rott from the Frankfurt Office, they met with German government institutions, peak bodies, chambers, and startup incubators, as well as businesses from across our priority sectors of critical minerals, renewable energy, and health and life sciences. The visit underlined the receptiveness of German industry to working with a stable and likeminded partner like Western Australia.

A meeting with German state-owned investment and development bank KfW IPEX underlined the attractiveness of Western Australia as a place to invest. With $43 billion of assets under its management, KfW IPEX is the third largest German bank. We discussed Germany’s €1 billion critical minerals fund, which opened for applications in early October, and which Germany is keen to see Western Australian participation in. The WAGO office is now working to advertise the fund in Perth and ensure WA is well-represented amongst applicants.

A meeting with a major pharmaceutical firm explored avenues for cooperation with Western Australia around clinical trials and longitudinal paediatric studies. Germany invests over three per cent of its GDP into R&D, and German research institutes are exceptional at conducting applied research with practical industrial value. Collaboration with Western Australian counterparts could provide significant value and learnings.

A site visit to Vulcan Energy, a Western Australian company operating in Germany was especially significant. Vulcan’s is one of the most affordable lithium products on the market, meaning they don’t need to ask customers to pay a green premium. As one of the few WA champions operating in-market, the delegation thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Vulcan’s innovative technology and their planned contribution to Germany’s green transition.

Finally, the delegation visited one of Germany’s government-backed start-up hubs, which provided useful learnings for WA’s own start-up ecosystem. 30 per cent of their fintech-focused community is located outside of Germany, so they could offer significant support to Western Australian companies looking to expand into the market here.
Ms Brown and Ms Spencer’s visit was a productive two days which has opened a number of doors for us. We look forward to delivering tangible results from the visit.