Greenland could emerge as a major source of raw materials for electric-vehicle batteries—if industrial interests have their way.
Arctic conditions and an ice layer over much of the land mass in this autonomous territory of Denmark have made mining difficult in the past. But, ironically, as glaciers recede due to climate change mineral deposits that could be used in EV batteries might become easier to access, notes a report by The Lever published Wednesday.
A 2023 European Commission survey found that Greenland contains deposits of 25 out of 34 minerals classified as “critical raw materials,” including battery-related metals like nickel and cobalt. In a September 2024 report, the Arctic Economic Council said Greenland was one of largest potential sources of these metals in the world.
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The first exploration for lithium in Greenland was just conducted last summer in collaboration with the U.S. State Department, the report notes, adding the Biden Administration helped Denmark draft a new mining investment law aimed at encouraging investment in Greenland.
Last November, Canadian mineral exploration firm Brunswick Exploration announced its intention to expand licenses for lithium exploration in Greenland following initial discoveries, saying in a press release that it planned to launch “a major lithium exploration initiative in 2025 across Greenland.”
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Greenland has become a foreign-policy talking point because of President Trump’s bluster about buying the island from Denmark. But securing more EV battery raw materials likely isn’t the reason behind this move. The U.S. already has ready access to Greenland’s minerals through its free-trade agreement with Denmark, and it’s unlikely that things would change that much if Greenland became a U.S. territory—except for environmental and work rules, perhaps.
As further emphasized with a directive this week from new Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to lower fuel-economy standards, Trump also doesn’t care about EVs. If he did, we would likely already be moving to exploit U.S. lithium deposits with the same zeal with which he’s encouraging more drilling for oil.
