Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleGermany plans to diversify wind power component sourcing by 2035, reducing reliance on China amid geopolitical tensions and energy security concerns.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's economy ministry published plans on Tuesday to diversify the sourcing of crucial components used mainly in offshore wind turbines by 2035 to reduce dependency on China.
The move is part of the government's broader "de-risking" strategy amid geopolitical tensions with China, and after the energy crisis sparked by Russia's war in Ukraine highlighted the dangers of over-reliance on one country for vital supplies.
Wind generation plants, especially out at sea, need powerful permanent magnets containing rare earths to optimise output and reduce maintenance, but their scarcity creates supply risks, the ministry said in a press release.
"Permanent magnets nearly all come from China, which also applies to the rare earths from which they are produced," the ministry said, as it published a roadmap setting out alternative sourcing options, potentially including Australia and Japan.
"We want to systematically reduce critical dependencies, for example on rare earths, from individual third countries," it added.
Germany wants to treble its offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030, in a sector that currently meets 5% of power demand, to help reduce carbon emissions produced when fossil fuels are used to generate electricity.
China provided 90% of permanent magnets, not just for wind but also electric cars, machine building and military industries, the ministry said, adding that it developed its roadmap with domestic and European partners' wind industries.
It proposed building up new procurement channels to be able to derive 30% of the required permanent magnets by 2030, and 50% of supply by 2035, from alternative sources.
That would include investment guarantees tied to long-term delivery deals and new partnerships with countries such as Australia and Japan, it said.
(Reporting by Vera Eckert. Editing by Mark Potter)
Germany's economy ministry plans to diversify sourcing of crucial components for offshore wind turbines by 2035 to reduce dependency on China.
The move is part of a broader 'de-risking' strategy due to geopolitical tensions with China and the energy crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine.
China provides 90% of permanent magnets used not only in wind power but also in electric cars and other industries.
Germany aims to triple its offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030, which currently meets 5% of the country's power demand.
Germany's roadmap includes building new procurement channels to source 30% of permanent magnets by 2030 and 50% by 2035 from alternative sources.
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