INTERVIEW | Henry Sanderson: We need a European battery industry!

Meet Henry Sanderson, a distinguished journalist, author, and geopolitical thinker focused on the critical minerals underpinning the global clean‑energy transition. Former Executive Editor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and author of Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green. A former Financial Times journalist and China correspondent for Bloomberg, Henry brings deep insight into the geopolitics of the energy transition and critical minerals. His work shines a light on the global race for lithium, cobalt, and other resources powering the clean-energy future.

In Volt Rush, Henry traces the high-stakes scramble for lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other critical metals. Praised by the Wall Street Journal as “a valuable exposé” and spotlighted by The Times and Financial Times for its rich storytelling and cautious optimism, the book reveals how remote mines and powerful players shape our electrified future.

Enjoy!

In your book Volt Rush, you explore the winners and losers in the green energy transition. LFP technology is gaining traction due to its safety and affordability – how do you view its role in making electrification more accessible globally?

I think LFP is enabling mass market EVs due to its lower cost. The battery technology has had remarkable success in China, and now global carmakers are adopting LFP batteries for mass market electric vehicles. That should help lower the costs outside of China, spurring EV adoption.

Given LFP’s independence from cobalt and nickel, how significant is this chemistry in reducing ethical and geopolitical risks in the battery supply chain? 

Cobalt and nickel are still needed for other industries apart from batteries so LFP is not removing the need for cobalt and nickel. In addition, nickel will be used in more premium electric vehicles, and also in other applications such as robots, drones and eVTOLS and aircraft. But LFP has meant the demand for nickel and cobalt in batteries is less than what was once forecast. Still, the electric vehicle market is growing rapidly and even a smaller slice of a growing market is significant.

With growing pressure on critical minerals, is a chemistry like LFP – with its more abundant and affordable materials – becoming a more strategic choice for automakers and governments alike?

Yes I think so – automakers globally outside of the US need to compete against Chinese automakers, many of whom use LFP batteries. Even within the US I don’t think they can seal themselves off from Chinese competition forever.

Some experts see LFP as the ‘people’s battery’ – safe, stable, and scalable. Do you see it playing a greater role not just in entry-level EVs, but also in energy storage and grid resilience worldwide? 

It’s already become the standard for grid-scale energy storage globally and this is likely to continue. Energy storage is a fast growing market that has the potential to be huge, given the need to store intermittent renewable energy.

You’ve reported extensively on China’s role in clean energy supply chains. How important is it for Europe to develop regional champions in battery production – and can companies like ElevenEs help reduce dependency on China?

It’s absolutely important. For the civilian market it needs to be cost competitive and economic, however. Automotive industries can’t survive and compete against Chinese car companies by paying more for batteries, unless for premium vehicles. But we need a European battery industry.

What strategic benefits do you see in producing batteries, especially LFP, within the EU, in terms of economic security, sustainability, and innovation?

The benefits are multi dimensional. Batteries are key to many different industries, from EVs to robotics and drones. Producing batteries will improve our skills, knowledge base, and help to reduce reliance on China, improving economic security. There’s also opportunities for innovation that could provide extra value to Europe.

From your global perspective, what must Europe do differently to compete in the battery arms race, and where do agile, specialized players have an edge?

I don’t think it’s about doing things differently but learning from the policy models of others that have been successful. Ideally you need to subsidise demand and then introduce support for the supply-side in Europe, either through mandating European batteries or providing tax incentives and subsidies. Europe has a large electric vehicle market so has the scale needed to build a battery industry. Europe needs to maintain the growth in demand and then introduce policies to support local battery production, rather than imports of Chinese batteries. Some of this will be Chinese companies in Europe but there should also be homegrown companies. It’s not easy but it can be done.

As demand grows for safe, affordable, and locally produced energy solutions, how do you assess the potential of LFP batteries to become a backbone technology for both mobility and stationary storage in the coming decade? 

I think LFP has the potential to be in mass market electric vehicles in Europe, and is already the main technology for energy storage. For the US market it is much less certain, however.

The energy transition is often described as a shift from oil to metals. But how important is it to balance responsible mining with smarter design and better battery chemistries, such as LFP, to reduce raw material pressure overall?

It’s important to use as few metals as possible – and thrifting will happen naturally due to cost pressures. But the extraction of metals for the energy transition is always going to be less in tonnage than the mining and digging for fossil fuels.

Recommendation for the Next Interview – If you could nominate one person for us to interview next, who would it be, and why?

Billy Wu, at Imperial – he’s great at explaining batteries simply!

Read previous interview here.