Germany’s newly approved €1 trillion spending package marks a historic pivot in both its defense posture and economic strategy, signaling a fundamental shift away from decades of fiscal restraint and military underinvestment. The plan—passed with a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament—unlocks vast funds for both military modernization and long-overdue infrastructure upgrades, as Berlin responds to mounting pressure to secure its own defense and economic resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty and weakening U.S. security guarantees.

This sea change comes as Germany prepares for a new government under Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz, who has pledged greater European cooperation and a commitment to addressing the country’s industrial stagnation. The spending package, which includes a constitutional amendment exempting defense and critical investments from Germany’s strict budget deficit limits, lays the groundwork for the country to significantly expand its military capacity and invest in future-facing sectors like cybersecurity, AI, and space.

Germany’s political turbulence amid a snap election and coalition breakdown could further destabilize its energy transition goals, already burdened by soaring energy costs and stalled climate action. With Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and Free Democrats (FDP) fractured, opposition leader…

Indonesian state-owned companies are embarking on a partnership with Germany’s Augustus Global Investments (AGI) to establish a green hydrogen production plant in Indonesia’s Aceh province. The ambitious project aims to construct a green hydrogen production facility with a capacity of 35,000 tons per year, spanning an area of approximately 50 hectares. The estimated development cost of the plant varies between $400 million and $700 million, depending on the chosen mode of transporting green hydrogen, whether in compressed, liquid, or alternative forms.