Germany must not leave future tech leadership to US and China – Merz
Clean Energy Wire
Germany must strive for technological leadership in climate-neutral energy and other future fields, chancellor Friedrich Merz said at the official launch of his government’s High-Tech Agenda. “Leading in innovation comes with the power to shape outcomes,” Merz said, arguing that Germany and Europe need this ambition to stay competitive. “We must not let the US and China alone decide on technologies of the future,” he added, naming climate-neutral energy such as nuclear fusion as a decisive arena.
The government unveiled the agenda in the summer and also adopted a fusion energy action plan. Merz now reiterated the goal of building the world’s first viable fusion reactor, calling it an “overriding national interest.” He said the country “firmly has its eyes on” the plan’s targets. The High-Tech Agenda will provide administrative clarity and funding, he added.
Merz said Germany is “no longer as strong as it could be” at turning innovation into industrial and geopolitical advantages. Warning of an emerging “systemic conflict between liberal and authoritarian states,” he argued that technological sovereignty and cost-effectiveness should guide national and EU research and development policy.
The agenda, overseen by the research and technology ministry, earmarks 18 billion euros through 2029. Funding is aimed at accelerating progress in climate-neutral energy and mobility, quantum and biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and microelectronics. Beyond fusion, the programme backs energy-transition technologies in power and heat, hydrogen applications, a domestic battery value chain, and scaling up carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) for e-fuel production.
