Greenland has everything the tech industry demands

The American interest in Greenland is not just about security policy.

American tech companies such as SpaceX and Amazon have big dreams of developing the technologies of the future, and here Greenland plays a crucial role. This is according to researcher and author Vibeke Schou Tjalve, who has been closely monitoring the American tech industry for several years and who last year published a report on what Silicon Valley wants in space: https://www.diis.dk/en/research/corporate-cosmos

– While political power in the US is in some ways under pressure, it must be said that the American tech industry is sovereign and constitutes an unimaginable global power factor. We are currently well underway in moving our digital infrastructure into space with satellites as the foundation for everything. And there is no one challenging SpaceX or the other tech companies that are rooted in an American context, says Vibeke Schou Tjalve, who describes the tech industry in the US as extremely eager and fiercely impatient to find places where they can experiment with the new possibilities.

The game over Greenland is far from over

– There is pressure from the tech industry in Silicon Valley directed at President Trump, and there is a constant dialogue between the industry and the administration in the US. In addition, Trump himself is very concerned with the USA becoming a leader in AI and new technologies. I don't know who is pulling which strings right now, but there is no doubt that the game over Greenland is far from over. The tech industry cannot be satisfied with partial agreements. They need to be able to control Greenland so that they can have free rein to experiment, assesses Vibeke Schou Tjalve and adds:

– Many of these tech companies believe that they are right now on the verge of developing completely new technologies that will change everything in the world, which will also support their power and influence.

Nuclear reactors as an energy source

According to Vibeke Scou Tjalve, the technological race is primarily about satellites, data centers and energy resources.

– The satellites collect data, which is then stored and analyzed in data centers. Such data centers use large amounts of electricity for servers, cooling, network equipment and backup systems, and therefore the big topic of conversation in Silicon Valley is whether to develop nuclear energy and micronuclear reactors, so that each tech company has its own energy source.

All of this requires research, experiments and, not least, access to uranium. In addition, the poles are optimal launch pads for satellites and rockets. Currently, there are less than 20,000 satellites in space, but Elon Musk's company SpaceX has recently applied for the right to launch a million new satellites.

The right to raw materials

The tech industry and the raw materials industry have become closer in recent years. In 2021, the company Bluejay Mining, which has an exploration license for copper, cobalt, nickel and platinum in the Disko-Nuussuaq area, acquired a partner in Kobold Metals, which is owned by the venture fund Andreessen Horowitz, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others.

– The tech industry's hunt for raw materials is both about securing agreements and access to raw materials, so that you have something in the long term, but also about putting a strain on other countries such as China, Russia but also Europe, says Vibeke Schou Tjalve.

– It may be part of the US strategy to secure control over Greenland to keep others out. In this way, the tech industry's view of raw materials is merciless, regardless of whether there are enough raw materials for everyone. In addition, both the tech industry and the raw materials industry are known for a large morass of dreamers who are not exactly interested in contracts, so in that way there are risks associated with collaborating with these companies. It is difficult to see who you can trust.

We need to slow down

Vibeke Schou Tjalve believes that the new technologies are so revolutionary that they need to be developed at a pace where you understand the implications along the way. And that is not the pace that you imagine from the American tech industry.

– I think that in Greenland you need to take a deep breath and identify the areas where there is the greatest interest from the tech industry. Next, you should try to learn more about what you have and what benefits you can get from it, while also considering the implications in the short and long term, for example for the environment, climate and local population. And then you have to consider who you want to collaborate with and how you want to collaborate.