Highlights

• Turkey possesses substantial critical raw material reserves for electric vehicle production, including massive lithium, graphite, and rare earth element deposits.
• Despite having significant mineral potential, Turkey faces challenges in mining infrastructure, refining capabilities, and investment needed to fully leverage its resources.
• If strategic mineral development barriers are overcome, the country could potentially support the production of over 10 million vehicles and a 92 GWh/year battery facility.

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As nations accelerate their transition to electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring a secure and sufficient supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) has become an urgent strategic priority. In a comprehensive 2025 review published in Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi – Mineral Resources Management (opens in a new tab), Taşkın Deniz Yıldız of Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University assesses whether Turkey’s domestic CRM potential—especially for lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and rare earth elements (REEs)—can meet the demands of its flagship electric car initiative—the Turkey’s Automobile Initiative Group (TOGG) project.

EV Growth, Green Policy, and Strategic Resource Strain

Global EV sales surpassed 10 million in 2022, with the European Green Deal and similar national strategies intensifying pressure on mineral supply chains. Materials like lithium, cobalt, and REEs are essential for EV batteries and electric motors, yet supply remains precarious due to limited geographic concentration, rising demand, and underinvestment in mining infrastructure. The International Energy Agency projects demand for key battery minerals will outstrip current production capacities by 2030, threatening the stability of global EV manufacturing.

Turkey’s Lithium--Hidden in Boron Clays

Lithium represents the most critical bottleneck for TOGG’s long-term viability. While Turkey currently imports all its lithium carbonate, the nation’s vast boron reserves—3.3 billion tons—contain lithium-bearing clays, particularly in the Kırka, Emet, Bigadiç, and Kestelek basins. If fully exploited, these could yield an estimated 19.8 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), potentially placing Turkey third globally in lithium reserves. Pilot projects by state-owned Eti Maden have begun producing small-scale lithium from boron-processing waste, but scaling this to meet projected EV demand (~64,000 tons/year by 2035) will require aggressive R&D and investment.

Nickel and Cobalt—Probably Not Enough

Turkey’s nickel deposits in Manisa-Gördes, Çaldağ, and Eskişehir-Mihalıççık hold approximately 644,000 tons of nickel metal and 84,000 tons of cobalt—sufficient to support Turkey’s projected 20–96 GWh Li-ion battery production capacity for the next decade. However, reserves remain modest compared to major producers like Indonesia or the DRC. Although a high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facility in Gördes has commenced commercial nickel-cobalt production, further expansion is needed to secure long-term supply for TOGG.

Graphite: High Potential, Low Output

Graphite demand, particularly flake graphite for battery anodes, is projected to explode. Although Turkey reportedly holds over 90 million tons of graphite reserves—roughly 27% of the world’s total, according to USGS—it currently produces only ~2,000 tons per year. With an estimated 820,000 tons of high-quality carbon content confirmed across three main sites (Kütahya-Oysu, Kastamonu-Doğanyurt, Kahramanmaraş-Fındıklıkoyak), Turkey could meet its domestic EV graphite needs (estimated at 64,000 tons/year by 2035) if it can develop processing capacity for battery-grade purity.

Rare Earth Elements: Massive Deposits, Minimal Extraction

In 2022, Turkey announced the discovery of 694 million tons of REE-bearing ore in Eskişehir-Beylikova (opens in a new tab), making it the second-largest REE deposit globally after China’s Bayan Obo. While pilot production is underway, low TREO grades (~1.75%) and technical barriers to separating and refining individual rare earths like neodymium and dysprosium pose challenges. Nevertheless, the potential to domestically supply REEs for permanent magnets and batteries could be transformative for Turkey’s clean energy and defense sectors.

Comparative Strengths and Strategic Gaps

Despite having significant CRM potential, Turkey faces several critical barriers: underdeveloped mining and processing infrastructure, insufficient R&D funding, and a lack of high-purity refining capabilities. Table 11 of the paper estimates that Turkey’s known CRM reserves could support the production of over 10 million TOGG vehicles and sustain a 92 GWh/year Li-ion battery facility for 10 years—particularly if cobalt constraints are managed. However, realizing this potential will require massive capital investment, faster permitting, and value-chain integration.

A Window of Strategic Opportunity

Yıldız’s review concludes that while Turkey possesses promising domestic resources to support its EV ambitions, especially through TOGG, this potential remains largely untapped. The paper urges Turkish policymakers and investors to prioritize domestic mineral exploration, develop battery-grade refining technologies, and strengthen public-private partnerships to reduce import dependency. Without a rapid and coordinated strategy, Turkey risks falling behind in the global clean energy race—not for lack of resources, but for failing to harness them.

Yıldız, T. D. (2025). Will the resource potential of critical raw materials used in electric cars in Turkey be sufficient for the domestic automobile factory? – A review. Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi – Mineral Resources Management, 41(1), 29–82. DOI: 10.24425/gsm.2025.153167