75. Clean Energy’s Silk Road Runs Through China, Adrift

Clean Energy’s Silk Road Runs Through China

Many companies wrap themselves in the flag of climate change. Much of that may be corporate yogababble, but it helps position them under the huge addressable market of clean energy and the potential for the outsized valuations it brings. And there’s no doubt that vast sums will be poured into the development of clean tech in the next few decades.

However, one of the dirty little secrets of the green revolution is that it requires some very grubby mineral extraction. Rare earth metals, cobalt, lithium, and other minerals are essential to batteries, magnets, and other advanced industrial applications. If the future of tech is green, it’s also red. Few clean energy minerals are produced or processed on American soil. Another country dominates the extraction and processing of these essential materials: China.