Diversified natural resources producer Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) became a platinum partner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo- (DRC-) Africa Business Forum 2021, which was held from November 24 to 25.

At the time, ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka stated that the company was proud to be a platinum partner of the DRC-Africa Business Forum 2021, as it was a “crucial initiative for catalysing both multistakeholder collaboration and investment in Africa, which is home to key materials for the battery industry”.

He added that the Forum was not only important for the African continent, “but also for the global battery sector, and by extension, the green energy transition”.

The main aim of the Forum was to promote dialogue, identify opportunities and facilitate investment to increase Africa’s share in the value chain for batteries, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy.

It was held in a hybrid format and was convened by the DRC government through the Ministry of Industry in conjunction with financial and civil society institutions, namely the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa, Afreximbank, the African Development Bank, the Africa Finance Corporation, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the African Legal Support Facility and the UN Global Compact. It was officially opened in a speech by the Forum’s patron, DRC president Félix Tshisekedi.

ERG noted that the global transition towards green energy holds significant opportunity for the DRC because of the strategic minerals used for EV production.

Hence, ERG, which has recently launched Metalkol Roan Tailing Reclamation in the DRC, is contributing towards the development of the DRC’s role in energy transition through large-scale industrial production of copper and cobalt, and also seeking to create a long-term, sustainable battery value chain through its involvement with initiatives such as the Global Battery Alliance (GBA), the Fund for the Prevention of Child Labour in Mining Communities and RelSource, among others.

ERG is a founding member of the GBA which is a multistakeholder initiative to establish a sustainable battery value chain by 2030, while RelSource is an industry-wide blockchain solution that ERG is developing alongside miners China Molybdenum and Glencore, as well as EV manufacturer Tesla and materials technology company Umicore. The partnership is currently working on a pilot cobalt tracking project that will span the entire value chain, tracing cobalt from the mine to the EV.

“We very much welcome the continued efforts of the DRC government in facilitating Africa’s contribution to a successful clean energy transition and increasing its importance in the value chain of batteries, EVs and renewable energy,” Sobotka concluded.