I am a journalist and author based in London, with an interest in clean energy, China, batteries, EVs, and critical minerals. I’m the author of Volt Rush, the Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green, which was chosen as a book of the week by the Observer, and one of the best science and environment books of 2022 by The Times.
You can sign up to my newsletter on Substack here, where I’ll provide regular analysis and news on critical minerals, batteries, China and EVs.
I’ve testified to the UK parliament, presented to the US State Department, and been interviewed by the BBC, Al Jazeera, France 24, NPR, Financial Times, and The Wire China, among other outlets.
I have written for publications including Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, Bloomberg, Time Magazine, The Wire China, and the Big Issue.
I have twenty years experience as a journalist, including for the Financial Times and Bloomberg. While at Bloomberg in Beijing I wrote a pioneering series of stories on local government debt, and received an honourable mention at the 2015 SOPA Awards for a feature I wrote with a colleague.
I am currently an associate fellow at the RUSI think tank in London.
I have moderated and spoken at conferences including the FT Commodities Global Summit, Nordic EV Summit, Mines and Money, the Cobalt Institute, and the Rare Earth Industry Association, among others.
I grew up in the UK and Hong Kong. I have an undergraduate degree in Chinese and English literature from Leeds University and a Masters degree in East Asian Studies from Columbia University. I’ve worked as a journalist in New York, Beijing, and London.
While living in Beijing for over seven years (2007-2014) I co-authored a book with Michael Forsythe about China’s largest overseas lender, China Development Bank, which lent billions to countries such as Venezuela, playing a key role in the spread of China’s power and state capitalism overseas. It was translated into Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. It was also named one of the best China books to read according to the British Council. I traveled to Ethiopia to report the book, visiting Chinese investments in the country.
I’m particularly interested in the geopolitics of the global clean energy transition.
I live in London with my wife and two children, and play jazz piano regularly at Nightjar bar in Old Street as part of the Sidecars band.
Please contact me directly for any questions about my book.
