The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, is in Greenland until Wednesday 18 September, in the Commission’s latest move to strengthen cooperation on energy and critical raw materials.

The territory of less than 60,000 inhabitants, associated with the EU via Denmark but not part of the Union, is the subject of growing European interest.

Greenland has large reserves of critical raw materials such as lithium, which are crucial to build new clean energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels and batteries. A report by the Center for Minerals and Materials (MiMa) of the Geolical Survey of Denmark and Greenland says that Greenland is home to 11 of the 34 raw materials considered as ‘strategically important’ by the EU.

However, the cleantech race is global, and Europe is not the only player interested in the territory.

The US reopened a consulate in Greenland 2020, after then-President Donald Trump considered buying the territory from Denmark. China is also investing in Greenland’s airports, ports and mines.

A coming mining boom

At present, only two mines are active and exploiting precious stones on this Arctic island.

But this figure is likely to change. The titanium mining project, Dundas IImenite, supported by the Bluejay Mining consortium, and the zinc-lead project of the Australian company Ironbark, have both been authorised by the Greenland government.

In June 2024, the American company Critical Metals announced that it had paid €197 million to take over the ‘Tanbreez’ rare earths extraction project in Greenland.

An ever-closer relationship

Today’s visit by Commissioner Urpilainen is just the EU’s latest move in the territory.

In November 2023, the Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on essential raw materials with the Greenland government.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the territory in March 2024 to open an EU office in the territory’s capital Nuuk, declaring “new jobs in Greenland, better security of supply for Europe; we can both benefit from greater cooperation in these areas”

While the EU must compete against other global powers for influence in the territory, it may enjoy at least one advantage. Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and is considered an EU Overseas Country and Territory. Under this arrangement, it is already set to receive €225 million in funding from the EU.

Further cooperation is planned. The first-ever EU-Greenland trade mission will take place on 30 September, with a focus on critical raw materials and renewable energy.

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