The United States and partners are working on 15 projects to secure supplies of critical minerals needed for electric vehicles and the energy transition, a senior US official said on Thursday.
The Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) formed last year by 14 governments aims to ensure sufficient supplies of minerals such as lithium and rare earths to meet zero carbon targets.
“We are now looking at 15 projects on five continents, from mining to processing,” Jose Fernandez, undersecretary of the US Department of Treasury, Energy and Environment, said at a briefing in London.
“Our goal is to complete some deals in the coming months.”
He declined to give details of the companies involved, but said at least one of the projects was in Britain.
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The MSP, co-hosted by Britain, will meet next week during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week industry gathering, he added.
The MSP aims to facilitate deals between private companies and help with financing, including from commercial banks such as the US government’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM), Fernandez said.
Lithium evaporation ponds are seen at the Albemarle lithium production facility in Silver Peak, Nevada, on October 6, 2022. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo)
The other members of the MSP are the European Union, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Japan, India and South Korea.
Fernandez said he was confident the United States would sign a deal that would allow critical minerals mined or processed in Britain to qualify for US clean vehicle tax breaks.
On Monday, Fernandez said the United States was optimistic about reaching such a deal with the EU, and Washington signed a minerals deal with Japan in March.
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“These talks are intense, ongoing and we have every expectation that they will reach an agreement,” Fernandez said.
The US Inflation Reduction Act provides a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles purchased in the US if a percentage of critical fossil batteries are sourced from the United States or a free trade partner.
