logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2024
13m 48s

Many battles in the lithium and critical...

MARKETPLACE
About this episode

In 2021, the Biden administration put out a report about gaps in the supply chain for electric vehicles. It estimated global demand for lithium and graphite would grow by more than 4,000% by 2040 if the world were to achieve the climate goals laid out in the Paris accords. These materials, along with copper, nickel and others, are critical to green technologies. And there is a global fight over their supply, one that Reuters correspondent Ernest Scheyder documents in his new book, “The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives.” He told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about why lithium, in particular, is in such high demand and the challenges of bringing it to market.

Up next
Mar 2024
Will safety issues at Boeing seriously impact air travel?
Consumer trust in Boeing is wearing thin since an airplane door ripped off a 737 Max 9 in January, which has been followed by a string of other recent Boeing safety incidents. So how much does faltering trust actually impact the business of air travel? Plus, President Joe Biden w ... Show More
8m 36s
Mar 2024
China’s National People’s Congress comes to a close
From the BBC World Service: China’s annual policy meeting has drawn to a close at a time when the country has mountains of debt, high youth unemployment and a property sector in crisis. So what is the government’s plan to boost confidence and steady the economy? Also on today’s p ... Show More
7m 44s
Mar 2024
AI can’t handle the truth when it comes to the law
Almost one in five lawyers are using AI, according to an American Bar Association survey. But there are a growing number of legal horror stories involving tools like ChatGPT, because chatbots have a tendency to make stuff up — such as legal precedents from cases that never happen ... Show More
9m 50s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
The push to dominate the battery supply chain
<p>As the world transitions away from fossil fuels and the electric vehicle market grows, competition to control a piece of a new source of energy is brewing. From rival carmakers to raw materials miners, different groups are racing to carve out their spots in the supply chain of ... Show More
17m 14s
Feb 2022
Do we have enough lithium to power the future?
Can we meet the soaring demand for lithium, a vital metal for electric cars and green energy? Mining is concentrated in a limited number of countries such as Australia and Chile. And with China dominating the manufacture of electric car batteries and already accounting for the im ... Show More
23m 37s
Jul 2022
The Carbon Copy: Get ready for the battery recycling boom
On the Carbon Copy podcast this week: It’s been over three months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves into global oil markets, causing supply constraints and skyrocketing prices. The conflict has complicated the flow of energy at a time when supply chains were alre ... Show More
21m 16s
May 2025
Critical minerals: The global race is on
They’re essential to the green transition, modern tech, and defence systems—and global demand is soaring. In the first part of our series on critical minerals, we ask what they are, where they're found and why they matter?As countries scramble to secure supplies, we explore the r ... Show More
17m 29s
Jun 2024
Ernest Scheyder on lithium, mining, and the politics behind going green.
Ernest Scheyder is an author and senior correspondent for Reuters. His new book, The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives, looks at the impact of the green transition in the US – and, more particularly, the tensions over the increasing need to mine ... Show More
52m 36s
Dec 2022
Interest In Electric Vehicles Is Growing, And So Is The Demand For Lithium
The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Biden this year includes incentives for buying an electric vehicle, ideally to persuade people to ditch cars that run on gasoline and switch to EVs.And as interest in electric vehicles grows, so is the demand for lithium - ... Show More
10m 7s
Apr 2022
President Biden says we need more batteries, and we should make them here
President Joe Biden is pushing for more green energy storage to get us out of the gasoline crisis. He’s encouraging the American special minerals industry to increase production. Biden wants more lithium, nickel, cobalt and other metals to come from  the U.S. to fuel more domesti ... Show More
9m 22s
Feb 2024
The War Below
Inside your cell phone, your car, even your leaf blower – there’s a collection of small, precious minerals making each one work.  Ernest Scheyder is a Reuters reporter covering the clean energy transition and author of the new book, “The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Globa ... Show More
25m 36s