The U.S. imports more than half its lithium today, but a new study says it doesn't have to. The U.S. Geological Survey published research Tuesday estimating that the Appalachian region holds enough lithium to replace 328 years of imports.
USGS said the Appalachian region - which covers Maine, New Hampshire, and the Carolinas - holds an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium. That's enough of the battery metal to power 130 million electric vehicles or 1.6 million grid-scale batteries.
The southern Appalachians, mostly in the Carolinas, hold about 1.43 million metric tons of lithium oxide, while the northern Appalachians, mostly in Maine and New Hampshire, hold another 900,000 metric tons.
USGS Director Ned Mamula said the find is "a major contribution to U.S. mineral security, at a time when global lithium demand is rising rapidly."
Lithium powers the batteries inside electric vehicles, computers, and phones. The U.S. imports more than half what it uses.
That dependence is part of why lithium got added to the USGS critical minerals list last year. Critical minerals are materials the federal government considers essential to the economy and national security.
China dominates the world's processed lithium supply, with most of the metal mined in Australia and South America before getting refined in China.
Today, the U.S. has one company actually mining and producing lithium - Albemarle (ALB). Two more projects are in the works in Nevada, with Canada's Lithium Americas (LAC) and Australia's Ioneer (IONR) both working on building mines there.
Producing lithium from the new Appalachian estimate is not the same as having it ready to ship. The 2.3 million ton number is undiscovered and not yet developed, which means it still needs exploration permits, capital investment, and years of construction work.
USGS said it expects global lithium production capacity to double by 2029.
Even with that build-out, Canaccord projects the lithium market will stay in deficit until 2035, since demand from EVs and grid storage keeps climbing faster than miners can dig.
That gap is what makes the Appalachian estimate matter. A domestic source of lithium reduces U.S. exposure to foreign supply shocks, even if it takes a decade to bring online.
Investors should track which companies file the first exploration permits in Maine, New Hampshire, and the Carolinas - and how the Trump administration moves on critical minerals incentives. The metal is in the ground.
