DiscoverDecoupleBattery Power
Battery Power

Battery Power

Update: 2025-09-01
Share

Description

This week, we talk about the rise of the global battery industry: its history, key players, raw material struggles, and how China came to dominate it. To do so, I’m joined by Henry Sanderson, author of "Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green." We trace the story of electrification from Volta’s early experiments to the supply chains that now shape global power. Sanderson brings decades of reporting to a narrative that reveals China’s industrial strategy, the entrepreneurs behind battery giants, and the troubling realities of mining cobalt, nickel, and lithium. Together, we examine how technology, geopolitics, massive wealth, and environmental trade-offs define the future of clean energy.

Comments 
In Channel
To Bomb or Not to Bomb

To Bomb or Not to Bomb

2025-09-1501:17:50

Rare Earth Emergency

Rare Earth Emergency

2025-09-0801:06:30

Battery Power

Battery Power

2025-09-0101:07:14

The Export Expert

The Export Expert

2025-08-1801:21:57

Sun, Silicon, and Xinjiang

Sun, Silicon, and Xinjiang

2025-07-0801:11:41

Small Reactor, Big Price

Small Reactor, Big Price

2025-07-0201:40:15

Is Wright's Law Wrong?

Is Wright's Law Wrong?

2025-06-2501:04:24

Tim Cook, Nation-Builder

Tim Cook, Nation-Builder

2025-06-0301:01:02

No Risk, All Reward

No Risk, All Reward

2025-05-2001:09:38

Hellbrise

Hellbrise

2025-05-1301:05:37

The Iberian Blackout

The Iberian Blackout

2025-05-0651:27

Cycles of Life

Cycles of Life

2025-04-2956:54

Respect the Rads

Respect the Rads

2025-04-0101:21:24

Pass the Salt

Pass the Salt

2025-03-2501:08:50

loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Battery Power

Battery Power

Dr. Chris Keefer