Canadian Urban Mining and Critical Mineral Recycling Technologies R&D Partnering Delegation to France

Global Affairs Canada, through the Embassy of Canada to France, invites you to apply to participate in the Canadian Urban Mining and Critical Mineral Recycling Technologies R&D Partnering Mission to France under the Innovation Partnership Program (IPP).

The activity will take place in person from November 30 to December 4, 2026, in France.  

Interested companies must apply no later than September 27, 2026.

The purpose of this delegation is to explore opportunities for collaboration between Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and potential French partners (SMEs, research institutions and large French companies), primarily with a view to developing co-innovation projects involving urban mining and critical mineral recycling technologies.

The mission will focus on the following areas: 

• jointly developing new products and/or services by combining Canadian and French technologies
• validating the suitability of Canadian technologies in the French, European and/or other markets
• adapting Canadian technologies to the characteristics of the French, European and/or other markets

Canadian companies interested in applying to participate in the delegation to France must meet the following requirements: 

• be a profit-oriented SME incorporated in Canada
• have experience commercializing technology in domestic or international markets, or be striving for this goal
• have capacity for and interest in co-developing technologies with French partners
• be committed to expanding to the French and European markets
• have sufficient working capital and human resources to undertake a multi-year co-innovation cooperation project and commercialize the results

Canadian companies: 

• incorporated, profit-oriented SMEs, with up to 500 full-time equivalent employees
• ready to collaborate on co-innovation opportunities with a foreign partner
• seeking to commercialize new or improved products, services or processes
• own or co-own the intellectual property of the technology being presented
• with sufficient resources to cover the unfunded participating costs

Other Canadian organizations (academic institutions, non-government research centres and not for profits): 

• that maintain a focus on innovation
• have an active interest in the mission’s target industry and market
• demonstrate an added value in terms of expertise, resources or collaboration opportunities

Businesses providing services to Canadian organizations are considered out of scope for participation in IPP missions and are not eligible for participation. This includes businesses offering visa and immigration services, trade consulting services, or those establishing business in Canada.

Technology and products of particular interest for this delegation:

Critical mineral recycling and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) technologies, including more specifically: 

• lithium-ion battery sector (Li, Co, Ni, Mn, graphite)
• permanent magnet / rare earths sector (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb, Sm, Co) 
• WEEE sector, in particular printed circuit boards
• metals used in the aeronautics sector (Ti, W, Ge, Ga, Nb, Sm, Co)

The program will include a number of business-to-business (B2B) meetings and activities with leading organizations in the French critical mineral recycling sector. The program will focus primarily on creating co-innovation cooperation opportunities. 

Specifically, the program will include:

• an information session and preparatory meetings before departure and mentoring on pitching techniques in France
• information sessions providing market insights and co-innovation funding opportunities
• pitch sessions by Canadian participants to French stakeholders, including French companies (multinationals and SMEs), research labs, centres of excellence and innovation hubs, technology clusters, and other incubators or accelerators
• targeted B2B meetings with French companies (multinationals and SMEs) and research centres to discuss co-innovation opportunities (between 3 and 5 meetings will be planned for each participant)
• networking events with key players in the French critical mineral recycling ecosystem: technology SMEs, industrial groups that recycle or consume critical minerals, system and service integrators
• visits to major research centres and industrial sites
• participation in Paris in STEP, the European ecological transformation and circular economy show  

European regulations have transformed what was once an environmental objective into an industrial obligation. The European regulation on critical raw materials sets a recycling capacity target for 2030 equivalent to 25% of Europe’s annual consumption of strategic materials. For some sectors, the targets are very specific, with minimum recovery and incorporation thresholds. This is particularly true for batteries, which aim for a recovery rate of 90% for cobalt, copper, nickel and lead by the end of 2027, and a recovery of 50% for lithium by the end of 2027, increasing to 80% by the end of 2031. 

The recycling industry chain in France is evolving by leveraging its historical expertise in metallurgy, its capacity for innovation through its research institutions, and its major industrial groups.  

• CEA-Liten, based in Grenoble, works across the entire battery value chain, from materials to cells, systems and recycling. It is also developing processes involving lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, precious metals and rare earths. 
• In 2025, CEA and Orano launched a pilot line dedicated to the recycling and remanufacturing of permanent magnets containing rare earths. 
• In Orléans, BRGM’s Plat’Inn platform makes it possible to test and optimize processes for processing ores, waste and industrial byproducts, particularly to recover strategic metals contained in electronic circuit boards and permanent magnets. 
• In Lacq, construction is underway for Caremag, a cutting-edge European facility designed to produce high-purity rare-earth oxides from recycled permanent magnets and mineral concentrates using a process with low environmental impact.

The French government, through the France 2030 program and specifically a national call for projects known as “Solutions innovantes pour l’amélioration de la recyclabilité, du recyclage et de la réincorporation des matériaux” [innovative solutions for improving the recyclability, recycling and reincorporation of materials] has invested over 253 million euros for 34 projects representing 2.5 billion in industrial investments.   

This situation is favourable to new entrants: industrial chains are not yet completely locked down, and French manufacturers are looking for innovative technologies to, for example, improve recovery yield and the purity of the materials produced, reduce the consumption of energy and reagents, separate black mass, trace secondary materials, etc.  

France, and more broadly the EU, offers a growing and demanding market. The industrial sector must invest in innovative processes capable of achieving high recovery rates, secure access to flows (waste/batteries/WEEE), prove the traceability and quality of secondary materials, and position itself on accelerated/fundable projects in the critical minerals (CM) sector.

Therefore, by choosing France for its international development, a Canadian company would benefit from easier access to the European market and numerous opportunities to cooperate with leading partners in the critical mineral recycling and urban mining industry.

The Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) selected to be part of the delegation will be invited to apply for funding. The program covers up to 50% of eligible costs, including: 

• economy airfare 
• local transportation 
• accommodation 
• meals
• conference registration fees 

Not-for-profit organizations are not eligible for financial support under the IPP. 

Consult the Innovation Partnership Program (IPP) Applicant Guide for the complete list of eligible expenses. To access the IPP Applicant Guide, contact an IPP representative at IPP-PPI@international.gc.ca.

1. Click the “Apply” button to access the online application form. Select the official language of your choice and the delegation you want to apply to, then complete all questions.  
2. Completed applications must be submitted online no later than September 27, 2026.
3. Global Affairs Canada, through the Embassy of Canada to France, will select the Canadian companies that will participate in the delegation. Selected applicants will be notified no later than October 16, 2026.
4. The selected companies will be invited to apply for financial support for travel expenses.