Appalachian Lithium Cache Enough to Power 130 Million EVs, USGS Says

The Appalachian region of the eastern US holds enough lithium to curb America’s reliance on imports for centuries, according to new research by the US Geological Survey, underscoring domestic resource potential as demand for critical minerals accelerates.

The area, which covers Maine, New Hampshire and the Carolinas, holds an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium, said a USGS study published Tuesday. That’s enough of the battery metal to replace 328 years of US imports at last year’s level, and enough to power 130 million electric vehicles or 1.6 million grid-scale batteries, the agency said.