“A tale of rapacious colonialism Cold War spy games dazzling technical innovation big
business rivalry big power geopolitics . . . Niarchos has produced an unflinching landmark
work on the nature of extractive capitalism.” —Patrick Radden Keefe New York Times
best-selling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing Epic shocking and deeply reported
The Elements of Power tells the story of the war for the global supply of battery
metals—essential for the decarbonization of our economies—and the terrible bloody human cost
of this badly misunderstood industry Congo is rich. Swaths of the war-torn African country
lack basic infrastructure and after many decades of colonial occupation its people are
officially among the poorest in the world. But hidden beneath the soil are vast quantities of
cobalt lithium copper tin tantalum tungsten and other treasures. Recently this veritable
periodic table of resources has become extremely valuable because these metals are essential
for the global “energy transition”—the plan for wealthy nations to wean themselves off fossil
fuels by shifting to sustainable forms of energy such as solar and wind. The race to electrify
the world’s economy has begun and China has a considerable head start. From Indonesia to South
America to Central Africa Beijing has invested in mines and infrastructure for decades. But
the U.S. has begun fighting back with massive investments of its own as well as sanctions and
disruptive tariffs. In this rush for green energy the world has become utterly reliant on
resources unearthed far away and willfully blind to the terrible political environmental and
social consequences of their extraction. If the Democratic Republic of the Congo possesses such
riches why are its children routinely descending deep into treacherous mines to dig with the
most rudimentary of tools or in some cases their bare hands? Why are Indonesia’s seas and
skies being polluted in a rush for battery metals? Why is the Western Sahara a source for
phosphates still being treated like a colony? Who must pay the price for progress? With
unparalleled original reporting Nicolas Niarchos reveals how the scramble to control these
metals and their production is overturning the world order just as the global race to drill
for oil shaped the twentieth century. Exploring the advent of the lithium-ion battery and
tracing the supply chain for its production Niarchos tells the story both of the people
driving these tectonic changes and those whose lives are being upended. He reveals the true
devastating consequences of our best intentions and helps us prepare for an uncertain future.
If you have ever used a smartphone or driven an electric vehicle you are implicated.
