Thinking on Paper - Quantum Computing, AI and Space Technology Conversations How China Won the EV Battery War | The Electric Stack
China makes over half the world's lithium batteries. They produce 90% of neodymium magnets. They mine 70% of rare earths and process 85%.
America makes burgers.
This is the story of how China won the Electric Stack—and whether America can catch up.
What's the Electric Stack?
Everything that moves will eventually run on batteries and electric motors. Cars, buses, ships, planes, robots, drones, tools. The Electric Stack is the supply chain that makes this possible: batteries, magnets, rare earths, processing, manufacturing.
China controls it.
How this happened:
1973: The oil crisis hits. Exxon funds lithium battery research. Scientist Stan Whittingham builds batteries that explode.
1980: John B. Goodenough (yes, that's his real name) invents a better cathode. Breakthrough in voltage. Batteries stop exploding.
1985: Akira Yoshino stabilizes the chemistry. Sony notices. They shrink the Handycam using lithium-ion batteries. The consumer electronics boom begins.
2003: Elon Musk starts Tesla. Early experiments with laptop battery packs. Panasonic partnership accelerates development. EVs go mainstream.
2012: American battery maker A123 collapses. China buys it for pennies.
2008: Beijing Olympics becomes the turning point. BYD tests massive battery systems in city buses. They gain experience at scale. CATL and BYD dominate global battery production today.
1983: Neodymium magnets discovered in parallel by Masato Sagawa (Japan) and John Croat (GM). They power hard drives, then drones, then humanoid robots.
2025: China produces nearly all neodymium magnets. Every Tesla, every drone, every robot depends on them.
The stakes:
Whoever controls batteries and magnets controls the next century. Energy independence, military advantage, economic dominance—all require the Electric Stack.
China saw this coming. America didn't.
We break down Packy McCormick's Not Boring essay "The Electric Slide" to understand:
- Why everything will go electric (physics and economics)
- How China built a 30-year lead while America slept
- Whether domestic production can compete (spoiler: it's hard)
- What rare earths are and why China controls them
- Why magnets matter more than most people realize
Can America catch up? The technology exists. The question is political will, capital, and time.
This isn't just about EVs. It's about who builds the robots, who powers the drones, who controls the energy transition.
If it can go electric, it will go electric. And right now, that means it will be made in China.
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Source: Packy McCormick, "The Electric Slide" (Not Boring)
Hosts: Mark Fielding, Jeremy Gilbertson
Topics: Batteries, magnets, rare earths, China, supply chains, EVs, energy, manufacturing, geopolitics
Key figures: Stan Whittingham, John Goodenough, Akira Yoshino, Elon Musk, BYD, CATL, A123
Format: Essay breakdown and discussion
Please enjoy the show.
And remember: Stay curious. Be disruptive. Keep Thinking on Paper.
Cheers, Mark & Jeremy
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Timestamps
(00:00) The Electric Stack
(02:13) Beginnings: War, The Oil Crisis & Stan Whittingham
(03:46) The Song Handycam: Lateral Thinking With Withered Technology
(05:06) Tesla, Elon And Handycam Batteries In An EV
(06:46) China Buys US Battery Company A-123 At A Carboot Sale
(08:40) China, The Olympics And The Serendipity of Battery Technology
(11:37) Faraday And The Birth Of Neodymium Magnets
(14:26) The 3.5 Inch Neodymium Magnet Alpha Product
(16:46) Magnequench
(18:16) Drones, Ukraine And The Magnet War Machine
(20:16) Politics, Rare Earths And 'The Future's Too Important' T-shirts