The EU will mine graphite in Greenland, thereby ensuring Europe's access to critical raw materials. This was announced by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné, in Brussels on Wednesday.
The project is one of 13 projects for the extraction of raw materials that the EU will launch outside the borders of the union. The projects are intended to make the EU more competitive and less dependent on foreign powers.
The remaining projects are to take place in Canada, Kazakhstan, Norway, Serbia, Ukraine, Zambia, Brazil, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the French overseas territory of New Caledonia. According to the European Commission, investments totaling 5.5 billion euros are necessary to launch the projects. This corresponds to 41 billion kroner.
Ten of the projects concern the extraction of raw materials that are necessary for the production of electronic vehicles and the production and storage of batteries. This applies to the extraction of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite.
Two projects are about extracting raw materials that will be used to produce magnets with particularly high performance. The magnets can be used for wind turbines and electric motors.
The list of 13 projects outside the EU is a supplement to 47 projects within the EU's borders, which were presented in March 2025. This means that the EU Commission now has plans for a total of 60 projects for the extraction of raw materials, which will make the EU more competitive.
In addition, it wants to protect European supply chains against, for example, trade wars and reduce the EU's dependence on foreign powers.
According to Stéphane Séjourné, the projects will contribute to Europe's economic security and at the same time create jobs in the countries where the projects will be carried out.
- Europe needs raw materials to succeed in our industrial and climate ambitions. The EU needs stable, secure and diversified supply chains, he said in a press release.
Greenland is not part of the EU, but has close ties to the union. In 2024, the EU opened its first office in Nuuk.
/ritzau/
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