Czech and Saxon Prime Ministers signed a Memorandum on Cooperation in lithium production and other strategic projects

Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Saxony on 16 May 2023. In Dresden, he held talks with Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, with whom he signed the Memorandum on Cooperation in the implementation of projects of strategic importance. The main topics of the meeting included the common border regime, the preparation of high-speed railway and cooperation in the field of science and research. The Prime Minister also visited Geomet in Dubí, Teplice, which is in charge of the lithium mining project in Cínovec.

In the Memorandum, the Czech Republic and Saxony agreed to cooperate on strengthening raw material, energy and fuel security and self-sufficiency, cooperation in science and research and strengthening cross-border cooperation in climate protection, emission reduction and cooperation in industrial transformation and the extraction of strategic raw materials, especially lithium from deposits on the Saxon and Czech sides. Thanks to mutual cooperation on strategic projects, new jobs can be created in both the Czech Republic and Saxony and the attractiveness of both regions in the field of emission-free technologies, renewable energy sources, electromobility and battery systems will increase. “Czech-Saxon cooperation is an opportunity for the Ústí nad Labem Region. This is a chance to attract new investors to the region, improve the standard of living and create thousands of new jobs, and turn the once coal-rich region into a centre of modern energy and renewable energy,” said the Prime Minister.

Since 2010, geological research has been underway in Cínovec. Final feasibility studies are expected to be completed this year. In the Czech Republic, lithium production is planned by Geomet, a company with majority ownership by the ČEZ Group. On the Saxon side, the Zinnwald Lithium project is dealing with tin deposits.

According to the recently approved Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), strengthening raw material security and self-sufficiency is one of the key prerequisites for energy reform in the EU. Lithium will be included in the list of critical and strategic European raw materials. The cooperation between the Czech Republic and Saxony thus has the chance to make a significant contribution to the implementation of ambitious European plans. “Both the Czech Republic and Germany are industrial countries with a large share of the automotive industry. It accounts for 10 percent of our GDP. It is crucial for us to successfully participate in the electromobility trend, including the production of battery cells. We have a unique opportunity to build the entire chain from mining to the production of the final product, i.e. electric cars,” said Prime Minister Fiala.

In the field of medicine, mutual cooperation will focus on joint research and development of new PET radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Two top institutions in the field, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf int Saxony and the UJV Řež in the Czech Republic, will cooperate.

The two Prime Ministers also spoke about the common border regime. Migration is a very important issue for both countries. “We are working together on measures to ensure the security of our citizens, especially in the fight against irregular migration. I consider our cooperation at the borders to be excellent and the joint measures to be so effective that there is no need to reintroduce border controls. I am glad that our Ministries of the Interior and Police are working together on a daily basis to maintain a high level of security on both sides of the border,”added Prime Minister Fiala. Other topics of the meeting included the preparation of the Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Brno-Vienna high-speed railway and the deepening of cooperation in the field of hydrogen technology.