Greenland is not a place you’d want to build a resort destination for American tourists. So why would soon-to-be President Donald Trump want to acquire the island from Denmark? It’s the world’s largest island, with almost 80% of it is covered by ice caps and glaciers. For the ice-free area, only a very small part of it is arable.
Greenland holds rare earth minerals that America wants — but which it largely relies on China to get. Greenland has about a quarter of the world’s rare earth minerals used in many of today’s technologies — from smartphones to MRI machines, as well as electric vehicles and military jets.
US and Danish officials lobbied the developer of Greenland’s largest rare earths deposit last year not to sell its project to Chinese-linked firms. Greg Barnes, CEO of privately held Tanbreez Mining said that the company has been in regular talks with Washington as it reviews funding options to develop the island’s critical minerals.
Trump initially made the surprise suggestion during his first presidency in August 2019 that the U.S. should buy Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. It drew an immediate rejection from the leaders in Greenland and Denmark.
It also has its strategic advantages on the military and national security front. It offers the shortest route from North America to Europe.
The U.S. already has military presence on the island. British online newspaper, The Independent, reports that the Danish government has been speaking privately with members of President-elect Trump’s team about potentially increasing U.S. military presence there.
Greenland is about 630 miles from the Arctic Sea. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Arctic region holds an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil, 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, according to its July 2023 report. Another USGS report says that it could have up to 160 billion barrels of oil and 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas.
These reserves are currently under the jurisdiction of eight countries: Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the U.S. These countries have exclusive rights to seabed resources up to 200 miles beyond their coast, in an area called an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
There are several barriers for any one of these countries taking control over any of these fossil fuel reserves including oil spills being very difficult to clean up in this zone with unique animal and plant species; and because the Arctic is mostly sea there is no international treaty protecting its environment from economic development, as there is for the Antarctic.
So the U.S., Russia, Norway, or another country could make a strong move toward securing the oil and gas reserves in that region.
Kimberly Taylor retires: About a week ago, CALSTART Director Kimberly Taylor announced her retirement after 14 years with the renowned nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting businesses and government in developing clean, efficient transportation solutions. Taylor started out at National Renewable Energy Lab, and then moved over to the Dept. of Energy’s Clean Cities program before coming to CALSTART. Her LinkedIn announcement had a long list of comments from friends and colleagues in the field. While retiring at the end of 2024, Taylor says that she’ll, “continue to enthusiastically advocate for and celebrate the technologies and people who are driven to make the world a better place.”
Musk providing Starlink in Los Angeles: Tesla Cybertruck buyers will have to wait longer for delivery as CEO Elon Musk diverts some of them to support victims of the California wildfires. “Apologies to those expecting Cybertruck deliveries in California over the next few days,” Musk said on X. “We need those trucks as mobile base stations to provide power to Starlink Internet terminals in areas of L.A. without connectivity.”
“The press will of course accuse me of grandstanding, but if this helps save even one house or maybe even someone’s life, we should still do it,” Musk said.
Tesla and SpaceX personnel were also providing drinks and snacks in affected areas. “We are going to position Cybertrucks with Starlinks and free wifi in a grid pattern in the areas that most need it,” he said.
What happened at CES 2025: Honda’s futuristic electric vehicles and Nvidia’s technology for autonomous driving got a lot of attention at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. There was also a few missing major automakers at the biggest tech-gadget and electronics show of the year.
Honda debuted two prototypes in its new 0 Series line of battery electric vehicles. The Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV can be seen in the photo above. Both models are still in the prototype stage, but they’re scheduled to launch in North America in 2026.
Honda also showed another EV — an updated version of its Afeela 1 sedan, in a joint venture project with consumer electronics giant Sony. Sony will provide a full-screen dash powered by Sony software, including the ability to play PS5 games, among other in-car entertainment features.
Nvidia continues to count on autonomous vehicles becoming the norm in the next few years CEO Jensen Huang to Yahoo Finance he expects its technology for autonomous driving will generate $5 billion in annual sales for the AI chipmakers. For this year, Huang unveiled Nvidia’s Cosmos platform for developers to simulate its self-driving vehicle software.
“If it’s already a $5 billion business for us, imagine how big it’s going to be when we have 100 million new [self-driving] cars per year,” Huang said.
Nvidia also announced new partnerships with Toyota to power computing and autonomous tech, and autonomous trucking company Aurora Innovation (AUR), which will use its specialized chips for self-driving vehicle systems. Toyota did not say which upcoming vehicles would use Nvidia tech, while the Aurora deal also brings in Germany’s Continental, which will manufacture the driverless trucks.
John Deere grabbed attention by showing off its autonomous machinery at CES. That includes functions for tillage, orchard spraying, landscaping, and construction. Jahmy Hindman, senior vice president and chief technology officer at John Deere said that it’s very much about addressing labor availability challenges in agriculture, construction, and landscaping.
BMW unveiled its latest infotainment software and digital driver cockpit. Hyundai unveiled its Hyundai Mobis division with its Holographic Windshield Display, powered by augmented reality.
While automakers like Ford have many times used CES as the launch pad for its latest technology, that automaker didn’t have an appearance at this year’s show. That was also true of GM, Stellantis, and Mercedes.
Several Chinese automakers filled that void, with Zeekr, the EV brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings, being visible. Wey, a premium brand owned by Great Wall Motor, and Xpeng also had booths.
Brian Moody, senior editor for Kelley Blue Book, told TechCrunch that it has to do with the long product cycles vehicles are under. He also thinks that some automakers have been rethinking their presence at shows like CES and whether its worth the expenditure.
EV tax credits: Electric vehicles qualifying for tax credits went up to 27 vehicles this year from 22 last year, but the future of tax credits may be affected by President Donald Trump returning for his second term as president. The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act had set the template for the current state of EV tax credits, with domestic assembly and battery sourcing being a strict guideline. The Trump administration can change how it’s being enforced by the Internal Revenue Service.
EVs from Cadillac, Chevrolet, Honda, Acura, Ford and Tesla continue to be eligible for the full $7,500 credit this year, as does the plug-in hybrid version of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, according to the IRS. Some EVs and PHEVs from Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, Lincoln, Jeep and Rivian that qualified in 2024 dropped off the list as of Jan. 1. However those leasing an EV can find a less stringent set of battery sourcing and assembly rules, according to Automotive News.
Hyundai and its two other brands, Genesis and Kia, did make the list this year after not qualifying last year. The brands anticipate eligibility for the full $7,500 purchase credit on the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9, the 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70 and the 2026 Kia EV6 and EV9 crossovers this year as U.S. battery and vehicle assembly sites come online.
Clean energy in Chicago: As of January 1, Chicago can now produce 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity to power Chicago’s more than 400 municipal buildings every year. Every single one of them — including 98 fire stations, two international airports, and two of the largest water treatment plants on the planet — is running on renewable energy, thanks largely to Illinois’ newest and largest solar farm, according to Grist. The move is projected to cut the carbon footprint of the country’s third-largest city by approximately 290,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year — the equivalent of taking 62,000 cars off the road, according to the city.
Hyzon liquidating assets: Hydrogen fuel cell truck maker Hyzon will be leaving the market, according to its board of directors. Employees had been issued a warning December, but the board unanimously voted to dissolve the company and liquidate its assets, pending shareholder approval. The company in the past look like it could be a supplier of hydrogen-powered refuse trucks, tow trucks, severe-duty trucks, and transit buses.
