The trillion-dollar battle for the resources to power our future. Oil and gas defined the twentieth century. Now lithium, copper, cobalt, rare earths and nickel will define the twenty-first.

The world is moving towards replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. But building electric vehicles, solar panels, and millions of other devices requires digging more mines. Critical minerals are vital to many sustainable technologies, and the competition for them is intensifying.

Nations which aspire to energy independence are ever more intertwined: a hedge fund manager's attempt to revive rare earths mining in California needs Chinese expertise, and international reliance on Africa's mining sector persists despite concern over child labour. Meanwhile, ecological dilemmas abound: a proposed lithium mine in Nevada would help global car manufacturers slash their dependence on fossil fuels, but developing that mine could cause the extinction of a flower found nowhere else on the planet.

As investors attempt to predict how the geopolitics of resource extraction will unfold, this is a story of the industry giants, researchers, and policymakers at the forefront of the new energy wars.

"'Essential reading'" - author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology

"'In The War Below, Ernest Scheyder unearths the contours of the struggles to mine the minerals essential for America's energy transition. Combining reportorial grit with literary skill he vividly captures the physical and political landscapes over which the future is being fought'" - Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Clash of Nations and The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power

"'A nuanced and invaluable deep dive into the questions that need to be addressed if we are to fight climate change and achieve energy security'" - Financial Times

"'A much-needed introduction to one of the defining issues of our time'" - New York Post

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'Insightful...the stories he shares are stark reminders of why we need to have a systems
view of material supply, from mines to markets'

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'To uncover the inconvenient truths and the often overlooked tradeoffs of the energy
transition, Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder takes readers on a journey through American
history, geopolitics, and the business world'

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'Authoritative analysis of a crucial issue and the tough choices ahead, backed by solid
research'

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'David vs. Goliath battles butt up against very real planetary perils in this evocative account
of the energy transition's myriad complexities'

"'For readers eager to learn about this industry, this is a sound start'" - Booklist