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Biden administration officials and international partners are financing critical mineral projects in an effort to counter China’s dominance in producing and selling the raw materials needed for the clean energy transition (POLITICO Pro, subscription).

What’s going on: “The Minerals Security Partnership—comprising the U.S., the European Union and 13 other nations—is racing to shore up mineral supply chains that feed the manufacturing of electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies and defense applications.”

• The initiative—which has already seen a dozen projects to completion in the past two years and has some 30 more in its pipeline—was announced Monday on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

What it will take: The undertaking will necessitate “a massive shift of capital toward new markets,” Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez said.

Why it’s important: “Federal and political momentum is growing to support critical mineral companies, and China has moved to restrict exports of materials like graphite, a key EV battery metal, antimony and other raw materials.”

• Multiple pieces of legislation have been introduced in Congress in recent years to bolster the supply chains needed to compete with China on the critical minerals front.
• Complex environmental concerns and “a market that can be unfair and manipulated,” however, will challenge efforts to dethrone China, according to Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

Focus on Africa: The Biden administration has long supported critical minerals projects in Africa, “which holds a third of the world’s critical minerals and has for a decade been the recipient of Chinese investment.”

• The newly announced partnership is expected to help promote cooperation and co-financing for these endeavors.
• Projects that have “attracted federal support” include graphite and nickel projects in Tanzania and some rare earths work in Angola.
• The administration also signaled interest in helping advance a project in Tanzania that “would produce battery-grade nickel for EVs in the U.S. and around the world as soon as 2026 [in] a direct challenge to Indonesia, which holds the world’s largest reserves of nickel and is heavily dominated by Chinese investments.”