Will Congo move up the battery supply chain? Strategic capitalism, friendshoring, and localized manufacturing in the time of the green transition

Abstract

In recent years, countries where extraction of so-called green minerals occur have increasingly asserted themselves. Negatively dubbed as resources nationalism, these political decisions are more akin to a willingness to increase in-country value added for regions often suffering from centuries of colonial extractivism. In the battery sector, these strategies led to cobalt, lithium, and nickel producers aiming to develop local manufacturing of battery components. This article provides a prospective analysis of these dynamics and takes the example of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the recent announcement to establish the country as a supplier of cathodes materials and potentially even manufactured batteries. However, the road to becoming a midstream supplier is long and the current state of infrastructures presents significant barriers to a shift in the country's industrial base. Throughout this article, informed by ethnographic work, I address these challenges in the context of the low-carbon transition. The sustained post-colonial state of Congo's extractive complex and its location at the core of geopolitical competitions constitute a significant obstacle to the establishment of this new industry, while the metal-rich country tried to find its way and raison d'être in the volt rush currently underway.