The US just found millions of tons of lithium in Appalachia, enough for 500 billion cellphones and experts say it could power the next century of American tech and weaken China's grip on batteries

Date:
Sun, 03 May 2026 18:40:00 +0000

Description:
The U.S. finds huge lithium reserves in Appalachia that could supply billions of phones and reduce America's reliance on China.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Lithium deposits identified across Appalachia could supply hundreds of years of imports Domestic discoveries across multiple states point to expanding lithium exploration efforts Extraction capacity remains the biggest challenge despite large confirmed resource estimates Lithium buried beneath parts of the Appalachian region could supply the United States with hundreds of years of material essential for batteries, electronics, and large-scale energy storage systems.

New estimates from the United States Geological Survey point to roughly 2.3 million metric tons of lithium oxide located in pegmatite formations spread across areas of the eastern United States. Much of the material is believed
to sit beneath sections of the Carolinas, while additional deposits are estimated to lie under parts of western Maine and New Hampshire. Article continues below You may like China has extracted 1000g of uranium from just seawater - targets "unlimited battery life" by 2050, tapping into 4.5 billion tons of aquatic uranium Chinese researchers develop iron battery 80 times cheaper than lithium Forget solid-state batteries researchers have made a lithium-ion breakthrough that could boost range and drastically lower costs Appalachian lithium resources concentrated inside pegmatites Reporting on the news, Fortune says the scale is large enough to replace about 328 years of US lithium imports based on recent demand levels, a number that shows just how dependent the country has become on foreign sources for key battery
materials.

The deposits could support production of about 500 billion cellphones, along with billions of laptops and tablets, or enough batteries to power roughly
130 million electric vehicles if the material can be recovered at commercial scale.

Much of the discussion around lithium now centers on supply chains,
especially since China dominates the production of finished lithium-ion batteries used in devices ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles and backup systems in data centers.

Demand continues rising as manufacturers move away from older battery types, while lithium-ion technology remains widely used in systems that require fast charging and long operating life. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news
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USGS says lithium resources in Appalachia are concentrated inside pegmatites, large-grained granite-like rock formations that can trap valuable elements during cooling and crystallization deep underground.

Accessing the material remains the biggest hurdle, since the United States currently produces only a small share of global lithium output despite rising domestic demand.

The country produced about 610 metric tons of lithium recently, accounting
for roughly 0.3% of worldwide production, while most refining and large-scale battery manufacturing continues to take place overseas. What to read next US rare earth independence hinges on risky processing technology The world's first EV with a sodium-ion battery has just landed in China Chinese researchers just passed a massive semi-solid-state EV battery milestone

In December 2025 we reported how researchers identified lithium-rich clay deposits inside the McDermitt Caldera along the NevadaOregon border , where geological surveys suggested between 20 million and 40 million metric tons of lithium-bearing material could exist.

Geological analysis showed that layers of volcanic ash and long-running hydrothermal activity enriched soft sediments with lithium, creating clay bands that in some cases sit close enough to the surface to allow open-pit extraction.

Industry planners continue to point out that discovery alone does not guarantee production, since refining capacity, environmental permits, and infrastructure determine how quickly resources reach the market.

Government-backed funding and private investment projects are already
underway in places such as Arkansas, where chemical extraction methods are being tested to increase domestic production capacity. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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