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The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World
A Soul of the New Machine for our time, a gripping account of invention, commerce, and duplicity in the age of technology
A worldwide race is on to perfect the next engine of economic growth, the advanced lithium-ion battery. It will power the electric car, relieve global warming, and catapult the winner into a new era of economic and political mastery. Can the United States win?
Steve LeVine was granted unprecedented access to a secure federal laboratory outside Chicago, where a group of geniuses is trying to solve this next monumental task of physics. But these scientists--almost all foreign born--are not alone. With so much at stake, researchers in Japan, South Korea, and China are in the same pursuit. The drama intensifies when a Silicon Valley start-up licenses the federal laboratory's signature invention with the aim of a blockbuster sale to the world's biggest carmakers.
The Powerhouse is a real-time, two-year account of big invention, big commercialization, and big deception. It exposes the layers of aspiration and disappointment, competition and ambition behind this great turning point in the history of technology.
A worldwide race is on to perfect the next engine of economic growth, the advanced lithium-ion battery. It will power the electric car, relieve global warming, and catapult the winner into a new era of economic and political mastery. Can the United States win?
Steve LeVine was granted unprecedented access to a secure federal laboratory outside Chicago, where a group of geniuses is trying to solve this next monumental task of physics. But these scientists--almost all foreign born--are not alone. With so much at stake, researchers in Japan, South Korea, and China are in the same pursuit. The drama intensifies when a Silicon Valley start-up licenses the federal laboratory's signature invention with the aim of a blockbuster sale to the world's biggest carmakers.
The Powerhouse is a real-time, two-year account of big invention, big commercialization, and big deception. It exposes the layers of aspiration and disappointment, competition and ambition behind this great turning point in the history of technology.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 16, 2015
Too much about the personalities involved, was hoping for more science. Also, Elon Musk should probably get more than the few paragraphs he gets here.
June 15, 2015
My neighbor had given me this book with the promise "You'll love it." I really didn't believe him, but it only took a few pages for me to start wondering if he might be correct. This is a non-fiction account of the effort and race to build the next generation of battery technology that would power the electric car for a nation that wants a transportation system that will include a large proportion of all-electric vehicles over the next several years. The author, Steve Levine, gained access to some of the leading research facilities in the US and assembled a true drama of the people, intrigue, and high-stakes risks behind the effort. The author has produced a documentary that is a true drama as the reader is introduced to the personalities of the leaders behind the battery revolution. The story centers on Argonne National Labs and its eventual decision to compete for a government contract to develop the world's most advanced battery. It is a race against foreign competition, and with other labs and companies. Theft of secrets and ambitious development timelines create a story that I read with anticipation. The drama of research labs under high pressure is accurately conveyed and I finished the book with confidence that I got an accurate story artfully presented. Thanks, Mr. Levine. And thanks, Don, my neighbor.
December 27, 2015
This is a great book that delves into the early history of how our batteries came about. It has a good bit of corporate espionage as well. What I'm getting at are Chinese scientists coming to America, seeing what we're doing, then going back to China to do it on a bigger scale for less.
There's lots of competition between these scientists, and hardly any are American the closer we get to today. And wow, these scientists have big egos!
I read about half of this book before losing interest. That's not to say it's a bad book or bad topic, it's just that you kind of get all you need to in the first several chapters.
There's lots of competition between these scientists, and hardly any are American the closer we get to today. And wow, these scientists have big egos!
I read about half of this book before losing interest. That's not to say it's a bad book or bad topic, it's just that you kind of get all you need to in the first several chapters.
November 2, 2015
Very little scientific value, but somewhat interesting from an economic perspective.
Having some experience in battery research myself, I was mainly incredible disappointed in this book. The book's subtitle makes it seem like it is relevant to the history of battery development as a whole, but its contents barely mention any research effort from outside the US. More specifically, the book almost solely describes battery development at National Laboratory Argonne and at start-up company Envia. The author gives no explanation for this choice of subject.
In my opinion, it's unforgivable to put the role of John Goodenough in a short chapter, to mention Sony in half a sentence and to completely omit the history of non-rechargeable batteries and non-lithium based rechargeable batteries. This just shows that the writer did little technical research.
From a business/economic perspective, it was interesting to read about a tech startup outside IT and outside Silicon Valley, but even then I would not consider it a very good book.
And finally, not taking into account the contents of the book, the writing isquite boring. Nick Bilton's book Hatching Twitter proved that it is possible to write amazing books about technology and business in the 21st century.
Having some experience in battery research myself, I was mainly incredible disappointed in this book. The book's subtitle makes it seem like it is relevant to the history of battery development as a whole, but its contents barely mention any research effort from outside the US. More specifically, the book almost solely describes battery development at National Laboratory Argonne and at start-up company Envia. The author gives no explanation for this choice of subject.
In my opinion, it's unforgivable to put the role of John Goodenough in a short chapter, to mention Sony in half a sentence and to completely omit the history of non-rechargeable batteries and non-lithium based rechargeable batteries. This just shows that the writer did little technical research.
From a business/economic perspective, it was interesting to read about a tech startup outside IT and outside Silicon Valley, but even then I would not consider it a very good book.
And finally, not taking into account the contents of the book, the writing isquite boring. Nick Bilton's book Hatching Twitter proved that it is possible to write amazing books about technology and business in the 21st century.
December 18, 2014
Fantastic nonfiction work on the development of a new higher efficiency battery that could be used for cleaner energy. I had no idea this was such a logjam for companies and the research detail in this book was interesting and understandable even for a non scientist like myself. Parts of the story read almost like fiction due to the larger than life personalities of many of the researchers involved. It was interesting enough to read in one sitting.
I received this book as part of the good reads giveaway but the opinions are my own.
I received this book as part of the good reads giveaway but the opinions are my own.
May 1, 2015
Crushingly disappointed.
This is an attempt at a Michael Lewis-style behind-the-scenes. But without Lewis's skill at extracting interesting personality traits or motivation, there's nothing here.
An endless series of play-by-play descriptions of board meetings and product pitches, which (spoiler) go nowhere.
No history of battery technology or infrastructure. No scientific description of how batteries actually work.
Only a series of big promises that didn't pan out. Like this book.
This is an attempt at a Michael Lewis-style behind-the-scenes. But without Lewis's skill at extracting interesting personality traits or motivation, there's nothing here.
An endless series of play-by-play descriptions of board meetings and product pitches, which (spoiler) go nowhere.
No history of battery technology or infrastructure. No scientific description of how batteries actually work.
Only a series of big promises that didn't pan out. Like this book.
May 19, 2015
[Disclosure: My company TalinoEV sells lithium-ion battery powered motorcycles (called tricycles, bajaj or tuktuks) to the South East Asian market.] Steve Levine's book, The Powerhouse is an eye opener for a number of reasons, most of which augur well for the United States' role in the world's use of this technology. Firstly, author Steve LeVine posits that the lithium-ion battery sits as the transistor's "equal in terms of social and economic consequence. Not to mention pure ubiquity, inventions without which the lives of the majority of the world's population... would be utterly different."
That got my attention. After all, the transistor is what made silicon valley, "Silicon Valley." It was an eye opener also in that I did not fully realize that large-form lithium ion batteries for transportation use is such a very recent phenomenon.
While lithium ion in small-form has been used since 1991 for Sony video cameras, and then subsequently in the early 2000s for laptops (and then in the mid 2000s for smart phones) it was only in the 2011 Chevy Volt that the large form lithium ion battery was used for transportation, according to the book.
There is a lot of hand wringing about whether the 200 mile distance threshold can be reached for developed country vehicles. And this is where much of Argonne labs' massive research is being devoted. However, from what I see on the ground, (and to echo Clayton Christensen's theory of disruption) - much of what lithium-ion even in larger form batteries (eg, 40 Ah) can do right now is "good enough." Christensen talked about how incumbent companies ignore new technologies that don't serve the needs of their customers or fit within their existing business models. That fits the GM described in the book to a "T". However, as the new technology, which excels on completely different attributes than the incumbent's product, continues to mature, it eventually takes over the market.
The hand wringing to me is akin to asking if a particular brush can paint the side of an aircraft carrier. Of course, this developed country problem will require large, specialized technology. However, to carry the analogy further, in large swaths of the world, another brush - a toothbrush - has been performing its job perfectly: up, down, up, down. day in and day out. It is the perfect tool for its use - short haul, quick, on-demand bursts of use. In South East Asia, the main market for lithium ion batteries is the same market that has given Uber its multi-tens of billions of dollars of valuation - it is the short haul, on-demand, point-to-point, daily use in dense urban settings (requiring 3-6 km trips) that is perfectly suited for Goodenough's lithium ion battery invention.
The answer to how to pay for the cost of the lithium ion battery is also in South East Asia and how data plans are consumed - in pre-pay/pay-per-use increments. It is called sachet-sized billing, and it is uniquely the opposite of Costco-sized developed country selling. By breaking sales sizes down in granularity, most anyone of the two or three billion "rising global middle class" can buy - and profitably use - a lithium-ion battery that is "good enough" to last 60 km (or 10 money-making trips on a tuk-tuk).
The technology to harness these granular payments in conjunction with 'good enough' lithium ion batteries are available today - IoT, bitcoin/blockchain, cloud SAAS switching - are are often very strongly U.S. technology. A TEDx talk by Jeff Chamberlain (a prominent character in The Powerhouse) talks about this 'energy Manhattan Project' changing everything. I now have a better perspective on why, thanks to this book.
That got my attention. After all, the transistor is what made silicon valley, "Silicon Valley." It was an eye opener also in that I did not fully realize that large-form lithium ion batteries for transportation use is such a very recent phenomenon.
While lithium ion in small-form has been used since 1991 for Sony video cameras, and then subsequently in the early 2000s for laptops (and then in the mid 2000s for smart phones) it was only in the 2011 Chevy Volt that the large form lithium ion battery was used for transportation, according to the book.
There is a lot of hand wringing about whether the 200 mile distance threshold can be reached for developed country vehicles. And this is where much of Argonne labs' massive research is being devoted. However, from what I see on the ground, (and to echo Clayton Christensen's theory of disruption) - much of what lithium-ion even in larger form batteries (eg, 40 Ah) can do right now is "good enough." Christensen talked about how incumbent companies ignore new technologies that don't serve the needs of their customers or fit within their existing business models. That fits the GM described in the book to a "T". However, as the new technology, which excels on completely different attributes than the incumbent's product, continues to mature, it eventually takes over the market.
The hand wringing to me is akin to asking if a particular brush can paint the side of an aircraft carrier. Of course, this developed country problem will require large, specialized technology. However, to carry the analogy further, in large swaths of the world, another brush - a toothbrush - has been performing its job perfectly: up, down, up, down. day in and day out. It is the perfect tool for its use - short haul, quick, on-demand bursts of use. In South East Asia, the main market for lithium ion batteries is the same market that has given Uber its multi-tens of billions of dollars of valuation - it is the short haul, on-demand, point-to-point, daily use in dense urban settings (requiring 3-6 km trips) that is perfectly suited for Goodenough's lithium ion battery invention.
The answer to how to pay for the cost of the lithium ion battery is also in South East Asia and how data plans are consumed - in pre-pay/pay-per-use increments. It is called sachet-sized billing, and it is uniquely the opposite of Costco-sized developed country selling. By breaking sales sizes down in granularity, most anyone of the two or three billion "rising global middle class" can buy - and profitably use - a lithium-ion battery that is "good enough" to last 60 km (or 10 money-making trips on a tuk-tuk).
The technology to harness these granular payments in conjunction with 'good enough' lithium ion batteries are available today - IoT, bitcoin/blockchain, cloud SAAS switching - are are often very strongly U.S. technology. A TEDx talk by Jeff Chamberlain (a prominent character in The Powerhouse) talks about this 'energy Manhattan Project' changing everything. I now have a better perspective on why, thanks to this book.
January 17, 2018
As a fan of Steve Levine's "The Oil and the Glory", I was excited for his take on battery development. There are few oil market disrupters with more potential than a safe, affordable, high quality battery for electric cars coming on the market.
The book shows ample commitment to the subject (Levine spent several years at Argonne National Lab), but he didn't luck out on being present for that next big development. Instead, he worked with what he had, which was a snapshot of battery development at a particular moment of time.
I was left feeling appreciative of the strength of our national labs and a little more educated on battery chemistry, but it wasn't the page turner that I expected. The big picture context didn't come in until Part III, where Levine briefly addresses global oil markets and what batteries would have to do to compete.
The book shows ample commitment to the subject (Levine spent several years at Argonne National Lab), but he didn't luck out on being present for that next big development. Instead, he worked with what he had, which was a snapshot of battery development at a particular moment of time.
I was left feeling appreciative of the strength of our national labs and a little more educated on battery chemistry, but it wasn't the page turner that I expected. The big picture context didn't come in until Part III, where Levine briefly addresses global oil markets and what batteries would have to do to compete.
February 23, 2015
Quite poorly written, but the topic is kind of interesting. Book provides a glimpse of the greed, wishful thinking, and b...hit behind the hype about batteries (in this case). Hype is out of proportion relative to actual progress and likelihood of progress.
March 9, 2015
Eh. An okay story. It was cool to understand all of the players – but it felt like it was a long article that was stretched into a book.
If you're really into batteries, you might like it.
If you're really into batteries, you might like it.
May 3, 2019
I was hoping for much better explanations of battery science or battery manufacturing - Levine settles for very little scientific context behind the inter-lab and inter-company competition for battery development. He also hints at some really exciting technology - in particular lithium air batteries - without explaining their intended innovation.
There is, however, some pretty interesting observations about industrial policy in the us, such as the following.
- One reaon why the US National Labs have so many foreign-born researchers relative to the private sector is their unlimited scope for H1B applications (thanks to a working visa exemption from Congress).
- There is much strategy behind the timing of scientific publishing. Publish too late and you'll miss the credit. Publish too soon and you'll be scooped on the next discovery by free-riders
- Thanks to the Bayh Dole Act, passed in 1980, lead researchers gained partial ownership of discoveries they make with federal funding. This helped incent commercialization of research, and is widely viewed as a great boon to our economy.
- While the jury was still out on the success of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, the SEMATECH consortium it is modeled off of sounded like a really exciting story, and one I wish Levine provided more color on
There is, however, some pretty interesting observations about industrial policy in the us, such as the following.
- One reaon why the US National Labs have so many foreign-born researchers relative to the private sector is their unlimited scope for H1B applications (thanks to a working visa exemption from Congress).
- There is much strategy behind the timing of scientific publishing. Publish too late and you'll miss the credit. Publish too soon and you'll be scooped on the next discovery by free-riders
- Thanks to the Bayh Dole Act, passed in 1980, lead researchers gained partial ownership of discoveries they make with federal funding. This helped incent commercialization of research, and is widely viewed as a great boon to our economy.
- While the jury was still out on the success of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, the SEMATECH consortium it is modeled off of sounded like a really exciting story, and one I wish Levine provided more color on
July 21, 2018
This was a well-written book with some good insights into how the story of new batteries started and continued. It’s still an ongoing story in 2018 so the book can be accompanied with a second volume in a few years to continue where it was left.
One thing I disliked was the fact that dates where rarely mentioned and it could get quite confusing to find out the orders of progresses and incidents specially since there were some flashbacks.
The other problem was that sometimes it gets involved in too much details and forgets the bigger picture, discussing the very scientific details that may not matter that much in real world and when marketing and consumer taste is involved.
I was expecting to see more of car brands involvement and their contributions which was only mentioned about GM and very briefly about Tesla and Nissan.
One thing I disliked was the fact that dates where rarely mentioned and it could get quite confusing to find out the orders of progresses and incidents specially since there were some flashbacks.
The other problem was that sometimes it gets involved in too much details and forgets the bigger picture, discussing the very scientific details that may not matter that much in real world and when marketing and consumer taste is involved.
I was expecting to see more of car brands involvement and their contributions which was only mentioned about GM and very briefly about Tesla and Nissan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2020
Good content, but it seemed a bit chaotic and jumped around quite a bit. I just finished reading an Enron book by Bethany McLean and couldn't help but observe a strong contrast in presentation. I'm a nerd, so technical detail is interesting to me. This book had sufficient technical detail, but it came up short in the organization. The chapter length was all over the place. Some of the descriptions of events seem to be culled from the same notes. The wasn't a strong sense of overarching narrative or guiding framework in explaining events. A decent read, but not a standout. If we could give half stars, it would be a 3.5.
September 6, 2017
The Powerhouse is the history of the electric car battery. It describes the big players that started the pursuit of the affordable, lightweight and reliable electric car. Commercializing research was a huge factor in this endeavor since existing battery technology would not solve the problem. The author describes working at Argonne National Lab and obtaining grants from the Department of Energy as well as partnering with car companies like GM. I was hoping for a more technical history as opposed to the history of the big players in battery development.
February 13, 2024
Chronicling the history of the lithium ion batteries invention through its many many decades of lab work to increase energy density & energy output through to the middle 2010s.
Steve tells the story of Argonne National Labs "Battery Guys" as they build battery research teams to create the future, branches off to cover an early battery startup & back to a major milestone for American battery research.
The book was a little hard to follow at times with many many names & plenty of timeline jumps forward & then backward. Overall a must read for battery nerds.
Steve tells the story of Argonne National Labs "Battery Guys" as they build battery research teams to create the future, branches off to cover an early battery startup & back to a major milestone for American battery research.
The book was a little hard to follow at times with many many names & plenty of timeline jumps forward & then backward. Overall a must read for battery nerds.
September 1, 2020
More personalities of characters in the battery world, which is okay I suppose. Hardly anything written about Elon Musk. Interesting now to read this in 2020 and see how wrong legacy automakers are about EV's and how Tesla and other start ups are thrashing ford and gm around the market currently. The next decade is going to be exciting for EV's.
January 10, 2018
Interesting book that tells the tale of developing a super battery. IP was a much more significant topic than I expected. The story sometimes feels like multiple unrelated threads, but they still tied together decently.
July 16, 2021
A dry, but informative, commentary on the evolution of lithium ion battery technology. The focus on the recharge at Argonne National Laboratory and rise and fall of battery startup Envia was particularly interesting.
October 3, 2021
A lightweight book on a serious subject. Very little technical research, even for a nonfiction aimed at general readers. Full of somewhat unrelated anecdotes without a cohesive narrative.
Too many contemporary nonfiction books, too little substance. Blame Michael Lewis!
Waste of time.
Too many contemporary nonfiction books, too little substance. Blame Michael Lewis!
Waste of time.
April 27, 2022
Thought-provoking, especially in the historical overview of commercial batteries and the laboratory culture at Argonne and battery startups - but rather unfocused and imperfect in structure/tone. Still recommended as an intermittent read or audiobook.
May 6, 2023
A comprehensive view on the race to develop the most efficient battery.
It details the capabilities of each team, the product development method and the challenges that face both labs and startups.
Well written account of "behind the scenes" story of battery new product development.
It details the capabilities of each team, the product development method and the challenges that face both labs and startups.
Well written account of "behind the scenes" story of battery new product development.
June 25, 2023
an enjoyable mix of science, history, and of course... NMC drama. it’s certainly a niche topic so i wouldn’t call it a casual “light” read. 3.5/5
we love batteries. thanks jordi for the bday gift :D
we love batteries. thanks jordi for the bday gift :D
March 11, 2017
It was the wrong book for me. I want more focus on why we can't build a better battery.
December 26, 2020
Too America-centric.
Made me glad I'm not living the lives of some of these researchers.
I had a hard time following all the groups.
Made me glad I'm not living the lives of some of these researchers.
I had a hard time following all the groups.
January 1, 2021
Not for its literacy value .. but for being an easy and interesting read if you want to know about high level story behind Li ion battery developments. Not the most up to date of course ..
January 17, 2022
Well researched. Marred by poor editing; this makes it unnecessarily difficult to read. But I found the content worth the effort.
July 9, 2022
A phenomenal look at how the modern battery industry was formed here in the United States
November 7, 2023
3.5 stars. I enjoyed learning about the progression of rechargeable batteries. The writing was not great, but good enough to keep me reading to the end.
January 30, 2016
"The Powerhouse" - journalist Steve Levine's two-year examination of the global race to invent a battery that will 'save the world'. He's a contributor to qz.com and thanks to Levine I have discovered Quartz as a news source and visit the site often.
For such a geeky topic this is astonishingly readable - some chapters have that short, James Patterson quality with a compelling cliffhanger that makes you want keep to turning the pages. I was swayed by the back cover blurb by 'Tiger Mum' Amy Chua who gushed that it is "gripping and mind-opening. Filled with astonishing research, The Powerhouse reads like a thriller. It's fabulous."
I agree.
The author shines light on the enormous buzz around battery storage and the research and manufacturing hurdles being leaped to take electric cars from existing 40 mile range (65km) to 200 miles (~320km) or more. The brains inside the labs are not celebrated the way Silicon Valley tech gods are...yet their achievements are impressive. Moore's law does not apply - trial, error, refine, try again is the way progress in energy storage slowly and expensively crawls forward. Intellectual giants from South Africa, South Korea, India, China, the UK and USA stride through the chapters.
Elon Musk is a side character - not available to the author maybe? The Argonne national laboratory in mid-west USA is what most of the action revolves around, with the competition framed against a backdrop of grant submissions, venture capitalists, start-ups and the courtship of heavy industries and car makers.
One gripe - casual sexism in Levine's paragraph-long intro summaries of the main players mostly emphasises birthplace, schooling / university and career milestones, with maybe an occasional nod to appearance or build. Two notable women are described and regrettably both descriptions focus more on hair colour and choice of workplace attire than their intellectual contribution to the battery story. Cringe.
It did not put Amy Chua off - I still recommend this 283-page book as a tremendously good read and a very accessible way to understand the different chemistries inside batteries of today and the future.
For such a geeky topic this is astonishingly readable - some chapters have that short, James Patterson quality with a compelling cliffhanger that makes you want keep to turning the pages. I was swayed by the back cover blurb by 'Tiger Mum' Amy Chua who gushed that it is "gripping and mind-opening. Filled with astonishing research, The Powerhouse reads like a thriller. It's fabulous."
I agree.
The author shines light on the enormous buzz around battery storage and the research and manufacturing hurdles being leaped to take electric cars from existing 40 mile range (65km) to 200 miles (~320km) or more. The brains inside the labs are not celebrated the way Silicon Valley tech gods are...yet their achievements are impressive. Moore's law does not apply - trial, error, refine, try again is the way progress in energy storage slowly and expensively crawls forward. Intellectual giants from South Africa, South Korea, India, China, the UK and USA stride through the chapters.
Elon Musk is a side character - not available to the author maybe? The Argonne national laboratory in mid-west USA is what most of the action revolves around, with the competition framed against a backdrop of grant submissions, venture capitalists, start-ups and the courtship of heavy industries and car makers.
One gripe - casual sexism in Levine's paragraph-long intro summaries of the main players mostly emphasises birthplace, schooling / university and career milestones, with maybe an occasional nod to appearance or build. Two notable women are described and regrettably both descriptions focus more on hair colour and choice of workplace attire than their intellectual contribution to the battery story. Cringe.
It did not put Amy Chua off - I still recommend this 283-page book as a tremendously good read and a very accessible way to understand the different chemistries inside batteries of today and the future.
February 1, 2015
Steve Levine has done an excellent job with small chapters and effective writing at making a potentially boring and tedious tale researchers in action (I am looking at you, Bell Labs: Life in the Crown Jewel) engaging reading. But, to find it all ended up as a "sin of omission" that "crossed the line over into deception" when Envia's Kumar put out a falsehood at a news conferences ending up in extracting four million dollars from GM and crippling damage to GM, well, that's like a movie that ends up telling all it was a dream. Maybe if I had known more of recalled more news on this I would have read it as something like true crime not what I expect it was turning into: a successful race for innovation where America comes up from the rear in partnership of government sponsorship, brilliant scientists drawn from the world, and motivated entrepreneurs. This would have come more from hipping the reader to this mendacity at the beginning and unraveling the undercurrents of its motivation and effects. Apparently, Levine has uncovered nothing there,so is left with the science and (dashed) hopes.
(I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)
(I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews