The Elements of Power - by Nicolas Niarchos (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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.

At great cost, the race to electrify the world's economy has begun. In this contest for influence and access across the globe, China has a considerable head start. From Indonesia to South America to Central Africa, Beijing has invested in mines, processing and infrastructure for decades. But the US 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 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, Nicholas 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 following the supply chain for its production all the way from the mines in Congo, Indonesia and the Western Sahara, to the factories in China, via the Silicon Valley and Shenzhen boardrooms where the decisions that echo across continents are made, 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 to prepare for an uncertain future. If you have ever used a smartphone or driven an electric vehicle, you are implicated.

About the Author

Nicolas Niarchos is a journalist whose work focuses on energy, war, and migration. His work has been published in The New Yorker, The Nation, and The New York Times. He has testified on the effects of Congolese battery metal mining on Capitol Hill. His work on mining in Indonesia was shortlisted for a 2024 Livingstone Award. In 2023, he won an Edward R. Murrow award for a radio report from Ukraine for The New Yorker and WNYC.