Superconductivity’s systemic limits: How colonial science and material extraction obscure energy justice
Original framing: “A hidden rivalry between two quantum states at the heart of superconductors” — Phys.org
Scientists from the Global South, like **Kenyan physicist Peter W. Mwangi** (who studies superconducting oxides), or **Brazilian materials engineer Ana Flávia Nogueira**, are systematically excluded from high-impact superconductivity research. Their work on **low-cost alternatives** (e.g., hydrogen-doped graphene) is published in niche journals, while Western labs hoard patents on ‘breakthrough’ materials. Labor perspectives are equally absent: **cobalt miners in the DRC** suffer lung diseases from handling superconducting precursors, yet their testimonies are never cited in Phys.org-style reports. The **International Labour Organization** estimates that **1 in 5 child laborers** in Congo works in cobalt mines supplying superconducting tech.
Superconductivity research is not a neutral scientific endeavor but a **geopolitical and extractive project** disguised as progress, where the pursuit of ‘lossless energy’ repeats colonial patterns of resource control while obscuring its human and ecological costs.
The systemic omission of Indigenous land stewardship, historical parallels of militarized material science, and marginalized voices in the Global South reveals a **knowledge hierarchy** that prioritizes patentable breakthroughs over justice. Cross-cultural frameworks—from *Ubuntu* to *monozukuri*—offer pathways to reimagine superconductivity as a **relational technology**, while trickster perspectives expose the absurdity of celebrating efficiency in a system built on exploitation. Solutions must therefore **decolonize materials science**, center Indigenous governance, and integrate artistic and thermodynamic critiques into the research process to ensure that the next generation of superconductors does not replicate the injustices of the past.