Most of the critical mineral supply needed for US data centers is imported

View a list of 50 minerals critical to US economic and national security

Most of the US's supply of critical minerals depends on countries that have historically competed with it, which has raised concerns in Washington. These minerals are needed for green technologies to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

Why everyone is racing to get rare earth minerals

Rare earth minerals are crucial for high-tech electronics and transitioning to new energy sources. China currently dominates rare earth processing capacity, but the US is seeking to increase its mineral production by using its geopolitical influence to strike international mineral agreements with nations like Ukraine.

Explore a map of data centers worldwide

As of February 2026, the US has more data centers (over 4,000) than the next 15 countries combined, thanks to years of investment by cloud service providers and technology companies. The next largest data center footprints come from the UK and Germany, with about 500 facilities each, followed by China with about 370.

Most data centers rely on the local power grid to feed power-hungry computer equipment

These facilities house rows of vertical racks containing multiple types of hardware, including servers that provide 24/7 access to online applications, services, and data. In a hyperscale center with thousands of these racks, the annual electricity used is estimated to equal that of 400,000 electric vehicles.

Beyond critical minerals, copper is emerging as a bottleneck to clean energy

Copper remains invaluable for the transmission of electricity needed in energy infrastructure projects, with 90% of the average circuit board made of the element. However, limited smelting capacity and low ore quality amid increasing demands are stressing global supplies.

As of 2022, Canada has the most planned critical mineral mines

Wealthy nations are tapping into their domestic critical mineral reserves and buying up mines in poorer countries. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and China are taking the lead, with Chinese operations spanning all continents except Antarctica.

Weird ways critical minerals are being mined

Critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and graphite are economically crucial non-fuel resources subject to supply chain risks. To diversify production, scientists developed odd ways to harvest them. This article breaks down the weirdest approaches, including extracting minerals from seawater using algae, phytomining plants, and asteroids.

An overview of the metals obtainable through deep-sea mining of nodules and crusts

Polymetallic nodules are a source of manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, molybdenum, and platinum, which are used in batteries, fuel cells, and metal alloys of electric vehicles. Seamount crusts contain rare-earth elements deemed essential to US national and economic security, including neodymium and dysprosium used to make permanent magnets.

View data center electrical demand and fiber optic cable connections across the US

Data center hub construction has prioritized locations with affordable electricity and fiber internet for data transmission, including Loudoun and Prince William Counties in Virginia and Maricopa County in Arizona. As of 2025, Northern Virginia's robust data center infrastructure is estimated to handle about 70% of global internet traffic.

Data center power demands have delayed the retirement of coal plants

US data center power consumption is expected to triple by 2035 to meet the growing infrastructure needs of AI platforms. Longer construction times and higher startup costs for renewable energy systems such as wind and solar have led to at least 15 coal power plant closures being postponed.

As of 2022, China has the largest reserve of rare earth elements

At 37.9% of estimated global reserves, China possesses twice the amount of REEs as Vietnam, the next closest nation. REEs, or lanthanides, are a set of 17 elements on the periodic table, which, alongside scandium and yttrium, share similar chemical properties that make them difficult to separate from within ores.

Since 2022, two-thirds of data centers have been built in water-stressed areas

In residential evaporative cooling systems, 10% of consumed water is lost to evaporation compared to 80% in data centers. Although some companies have pledged to become water-positive—replenishing more freshwater than they consume—by 2030 through a transition to air cooling, only 10% of data center operators track water use across all their facilities.

The widespread need for rechargeable batteries has fueled surging lithium demand

As of 2025, the average person uses 27 times more mined lithium than they did in the 1990s, with the US ranking second globally in consumption despite producing less than 1% of global supply. However, potential alternative materials and boom-and-bust cycles have challenged the profitability of mines and future demand for the mineral.

Clean energy technologies are more mineral-intensive than burning fossil fuels

Solar panels use silver due to its high conductivity, hydropower plants use chromium in their steel alloys, and geothermal plants need titanium to withstand abundant heat and pressure. Lithium—used in energy storage—is expected to see over 500% increased demand from 2020 to 2025.

As of 2025, the US and Qatar dominate global helium production

The US's 42.6% share includes helium imported from Canada and refined within the states. Geopolitical conflicts can cause supply disruptions that impact several advanced technologies, including semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace systems, and medical imaging.

The world's biggest silver producers, mapped

Mexico, with its deep history of silver mining, is the dominant leader in silver production, with over 200 million ounces (as of 2023), with China and Peru in second and third place. The precious metal is increasingly important for the electronics industry, and its price is expected to keep rising. See a chart of the biggest silver miners here.

AI data center growth has created shortages and price hikes in computer parts

The parallel processing needed to power large language models for AI chatbots and other tools drove demand for high-speed graphics processing units to spike in 2025, enabling capital-rich technology companies to price out consumers. Similar demands for the computer memory used in storage drives are expected to keep shortages from easing through 2028.

Nuclear power supplies almost half of US carbon-free energy

As of 2023, nearly 20% of US electricity comes from nuclear power, but most reactors were built from 1971 to 1990. Expansion slowed due to safety concerns, high costs, and competition from natural gas.

The US government reportedly hoards 1.4 billion pounds of cheese in caves

In limestone mines said to be hundreds of feet below the ground, officials have allegedly stored surplus cheese to keep the industry afloat amid ebbs and flows in demand.

The Bomb-proof, Cold War-era New York data center inspiring spy movies

At 33 Thomas Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, a 45-story concrete tower with no windows stands imperiously over the city. Inside, 18 floors of telecommunications technology have hummed for decades. The building's purpose—to protect US comms from nuclear fallout—and its design have played into spy movie plotlines. Dive into the building's curious role in pop culture with this long read.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Over three-fourths of US debt is held by domestic and foreign investors

Of the domestic investors, the Federal Reserve is the largest holder. And, of the foreign investors, Japan is the largest holder, followed by China.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Alaska's 750,000 residents are fed by $2B in food imports annually

The logistics of the state's food supply chain are served by container ships, planes, trains, and trucks from the lower 48 states. Roughly 60% of all Alaskans live within two hours of Anchorage.

Countries tried to curb plastic waste, but the US keeps shipping more

Data show that American exporters continue to ship plastic waste overseas, often to poorer countries, even though most of the world has agreed to not accept it.

The 6 US Mint locations across the country work together to create America’s coins and more

While the US Mint at Denver makes circulating and collectible coins, the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox stores much of the country's gold. Other locations include the San Francisco Mint, the Philadelphia Mint, the headquarters of the US Mint in Washington, DC, and the West Point Mint.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.