An Electric Revolution

Aluminium prices are at a four-year high, up more than 25% this year, as war in the Middle East and a blocked Strait of Hormuz choke off nearly a quarter of the world's seaborne metal supply. In this episode, Henry Sanderson speaks with Paul Adkins of AZ Global Consulting about the structural shortage reshaping the aluminium market: which Gulf smelters have been knocked out, why a bombed plant can take a year or more to rebuild, and why China — which makes 60% of the world's aluminium — won't ride to the rescue. Plus: how Europe's carbon border rules are quietly transforming Chinese industry, and why this war could force a fundamental rethink of where the world builds its aluminium smelters.

China currently holds an unprecedented grip on the critical minerals and rare earth magnets that power our future—from EVs to wind turbines. As export restrictions tighten, is the West finally moving from "strategic competition" into an actual war footing?

In this episode, host Henry Sanderson sits down with Tomasz Nadrowski, a New York-based fund manager and author of the new book, Mineral War: China’s Quest for Weapons of Mineral Destruction.

They dive into why the US and Europe built "houses of straw" while Japan prepared for the storm, the massive financing advantage China holds over Western miners, and whether the West can actually rebuild its supply chains before time runs out.

Go Deeper:For more analysis on the geopolitical race for resources, subscribe to Volt Insight, the companion newsletter to this podcast, available on Substack.

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We are burning more coal than at any point in human history — more than during the Industrial Revolution, and more than during the global energy crisis of the 1970s.

Global coal demand likely rose by 0.5% last year to a record 8.85 billion tonnes, according to the International Energy Agency, driven largely by China.

This is happening despite the rapid reduction in the cost of solar panels, wind turbines, and lithium-ion batteries.

So why can’t the world quit coal?

Lucy Shaw, who writes the ⁠Slow Burn substack newsletter⁠, digs into this contradiction in this episode.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric is nearing the end of his term. One of Boric’s signature achievements was his National Lithium Strategy — an effort to open new areas for lithium production and reshape how Chile manages one of the world’s most important critical minerals.

I’m joined by Ignacio Mehech, CEO of CleanTech Lithium and formerly Country Manager for Albemarle in Chile. Ignacio offers an insider’s view on what Boric’s strategy was really trying to achieve — and what may change under the next administration.

The company plans to re-apply for a special lithium operating contract ("CEOL") for its Laguna Verde project in Chile.

We dig into the strict new technological requirements, including the mandated use of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), a process that could make Chilean lithium far more sustainable but is not yet proven at large scale.

With decades of experience in the sector, Ignacio is the perfect guide to Chile’s next chapter in lithium.

Hydrogen is the universe’s oldest and most abundant element. The clean energy discussion has centered on “green hydrogen”—manufacturing it using renewable electricity.

But what if the earth itself held vast, untapped reserves of pure, naturally occurring hydrogen, ready for us to tap into?

In this week’s podcast I speak to Emmanuel Masini, known as Manu, a geologist and the CEO of Mantle8, a company at the forefront of exploring this game-changing resource. The company is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Kiko Ventures.

We discuss how natural hydrogen is formed in the earth’s crust, and what conditions need to exist to find pure natural hydrogen.

Manu explains what he calls the “geological trifecta” that is needed for economic natural hydrogen extraction.

Extraction of natural hydrogen could overcome the cost barriers of green hydrogen production, which remains much higher than hydrogen produced from fossil fuels.

Mantle8 is targeting a production cost of less than one euro per kilogram, compared to between 5 to 7 euros for green hydrogen produced from renewable sources of electricity.

Currently the only producing natural hydrogen well is in Mali, but it only produces around 5 tonnes a year.

China has introduced new export license rules for advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery materials—potentially restricting global EV and clean energy supply chains.

In this episode, I speak with Dan Blondal, CEO of Nano One Materials, one of the few companies outside China developing LFP technology.

We discuss what the new rules mean for the market, China’s head start in high-density LFP, and how innovation like Nano One’s “one-pot process” could make North American production more competitive.

In a world buzzing with talk of AI and data centers, nuclear power is back in the spotlight.

But behind the headlines lies a complex and often overlooked market: uranium. In this episode, I speak with Nick Clarke, founder of Curzon Resources — one of the world’s largest uranium traders — about how the market is evolving as nuclear power returns to the global stage.

Clarke explains why he expects the uranium market to double in size over the next decade, how China is outpacing the West in securing supply, and why uranium prices have dipped despite soaring demand.

As the world races to power the next generation of AI and industry, uranium is re-emerging as a strategic resource. Yet as Nick Clarke warns, the West risks being left behind unless it rebuilds its nuclear supply chains.

Please follow my newsletter Volt Rush on Substack for weekly updates on clean energy, critical minerals, and China.

Home charging has transformed the economics of owning an electric vehicle in the UK.
With smart overnight tariffs, it can cost as little as £6 ($8) to fully charge your EV at home — compared to more than £20 at a public charger.

The next frontier is even more exciting: using your car’s battery not just for driving, but to power your home during peak hours and even support the wider electricity grid. This is the promise of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology.

In this episode, I speak with Peter McDonald, Mobility Director at charging company Ohme.

With two decades of experience at companies like Nissan and Volkswagen, Peter shares why the UK’s unique energy market makes home charging so much cheaper, and why the country could become a leading testbed for V2G as volatile power prices create new opportunities.

How do we reconcile the need to move away from fossil fuels with the need for new mines to build clean energy technologies?

Thea Riofrancos, Associate Professor of Political Science at Providence College, explores this dilemma in her new book Extraction: The Frontiers of Green Capitalism.

The book focuses on lithium — the metal at the heart of batteries for electric vehicles. Traveling through Chile, Nevada, and Portugal, Riofrancos meets with activists and residents to investigate what she calls “green extractivism.”

She argues that these “extractive frontiers” form the material foundation of a zero-carbon world. But they also warn us against “the temptations of technical fixes, escape-from-nature fantasies, or a purely post-extractive society.”

Riofrancos shows how proposed and existing lithium mines create conflicts with local communities and threaten cultural and historical roots. As she writes: “The energy transition is not a peaceful bridge between fossil fuels and renewable energy, but a crucible where past, present, and possible futures collide.”

These conflicts raise fundamental questions about justice in the energy transition and risk splitting the environmental movement. “Ultimately, anti-extractive activists are forcing us to address an uncomfortable, but necessary question: What does it mean to defend people and the planet from extraction — when others frame this same extraction as necessary to save people and the planet?”

She also points to a potential solution: fixing demand. Do we really need to electrify oversized vehicles like Hummers, or can we drive smaller cars and invest in public transport? After all, future mining depends on how much we choose to consume.

In our conversation, we explored these tensions — and what they mean for the future of the energy transition.

Why did it take more than 60 years for solar to go mainstream—and how did it get so cheap?

In this episode, I explore the global history of solar energy with Gregory Nemet, professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and author of How Solar Energy Became Cheap.

Greg reveals how solar’s stunning price drop—from over $100 per watt for a solar modulee in the 1970s to under 10 cents today—wasn’t driven by a single breakthrough or country. Instead, it was a global relay race of innovation, policy, and persistence.

🔍 What we cover:

🎧 Tune in to hear the surprising, multi-decade journey behind one of the greatest climate success stories—and what it means for the future of clean energy.

Links:

• Gregory Nemet’s website: gregnemet.net