Australia wants to ship more minerals and hydrogen to Europe.

Berlin Don Farrell came to Europe at just the right time. To his delight, the Australian Minister of Trade saw snow twice – it hardly ever snows in his home country.

But Farrell hasn’t been on a European tour in recent weeks because of the weather. His mission: He wants to position Australia as an alternative to China when it comes to supplying raw materials – and to promote the free trade agreement with the EU.

“If you want rare earths, you can go to China, but you can also come to Australia,” says Farrell in an exclusive interview with Handelsblatt at the Australian Embassy in Berlin. Australia has the second largest reserves of minerals in the world.

When it comes to so-called rare earths, Australia has the sixth largest deposits in the world. Australia is the international leader in the production of lithium, which is important for batteries.