The governments of the UK and Germany have inked a new deal to work together on energy security and renewables development, including offshore wind development, carbon capture and transport, and electricity interconnector projects.

The new energy and climate partnership, announced on Friday, commits the two countries’ governments to cooperation on renewables projects, with a particular focus on offshore wind and electricity interconnections, and knowledge sharing around carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) development, including cross-border transport of captured emissions.

Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutihno said the agreement would “extend and deepen” the relationship between Germany and the UK, and would help the nations “lead Europe and the world in making the green transition”.

“The UK and Germany agree on the importance of clean, affordable energy and we both recognise its crucial role in growing our economies and guaranteeing national and global energy security,” she said. “We are already working together in the North Sea to deliver our world-leading offshore wind ambitions, as well as linking our countries with subsea electricity cables.“

The countries have also pledged to strengthen and promote regional and global energy security, including discussions on winter preparedness, security of infrastructure and supply chains.

And the deal includes a pledge for the countries to share best practices and learnings on industrial, buildings and heat decarbonisation, energy efficiency, and net zero policies and strategies.

The government said the strengthened partnership demonstrated how Europe’s two largest economies had “doubled down on commitments made under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C”.

Robert Habeck, German vice chancellor and federal minister for economic affairs, said the UK and Germany faced “similar challenges” when it came to navigating the net zero transition.

“We have made good progress regarding the transition towards climate neutrality, but there is still a long path ahead of us,” he said. “Cooperation with reliable partners can help all partners to advance not only faster, but better.

“We can learn from each other’s experiences, share knowledge and work together to reach our common goals. The joint declaration signed today builds upon a long history of cooperation and provides a sound framework for successfully working together in future.”

Germany is aiming to install 30GW of offshore wind by 2030, while the UK is targeting 50GW. Developers in both countries have highlighted how the ability to export and trade power between countries around the North Sea can significantly strengthen the investment case for new projects.

The UK government has faced heavy criticism for its failure to attract any bidders for offshore wind in the latest state-backed clean energy auction, held in September, after ignoring industry warnings the conditions of the auction were not attractive enough to secure new projects given the inflationary pressure all infrastructure developers are facing.

The UK-Germany energy and climate deal was announced as the first phase of construction of a 725km subsea electricity cable between Kent and Wilhelmshaven was confirmed as completed.

The NeuConnect cable will allow 1.4GW of electricity to flow in either direction when it comes online in 2028, making it the first interconnector between the two nations.

Julia Prescot, chair of NeuConnect, said the £2.4bn scheme was the “single largest Anglo-German infrastructure project” and would create “an important symbolic link” between the two countries.

“We warmly welcome the new UK-Germany bilateral cooperation on energy and climate signed by both governments today,” she added. “NeuConnect demonstrates the huge opportunities for the UK and Germany to work together on energy resilience and net zero.”

Another UK-Germany interconnector project is currently in development and awaiting regulatory approval from Ofgem.

The deal comes a month after ministers from Germany and the UK signed a separate agreement to work together on accelerating uptake of low-carbon hydrogen – in particular green hydrogen, which is made from renewable sources – in both nations’ energy mixes.

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