DETROIT (AP) — The United States will have access to Ukraine’s critical mineral wealth, including key ingredients for the clean energy transition, under a deal the two countries are expected to sign later this week.
President Donald Trump, who has pushed for the agreement, has long been critical of a transition to green energies, which include wind and solar power, along with electrification of transportation and appliances, all things that require the various minerals the U.S. will have access to in this deal. So if Trump is against this trend, why go after these minerals?
The quick answer could be they’re used in a lot of other things, too. Here’s a closer look:
Ukraine’s mineral wealth
Countries vary in which minerals they deem strategically critical. The U.S. Department of the Interior has designated 50, and Ukraine has more than 20 of those.
Deposits of titanium, which is in high demand, are spread across the country. Titanium is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, for marine uses, chemical processing and medical devices.
Ukraine has lithium, key to several current battery technologies, and it has uranium, used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons.
The country also has graphite and manganese, both used in batteries for…