The widespread need for rechargeable batteries has fueled surging lithium demand

How lithium has become one of the world's most important elements

Lithium is the driving force behind electric vehicles as the key element in the lithium-ion batteries that power the cars. But as demand for EVs rises, will global lithium supply keep pace with demand? This report projects demand will reach up to four million metric tons of the mineral compound containing lithium by 2030, with batteries accounting for 95% of end-use applications.

As of 2022, only about 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled globally

Traditional recycling methods have been inadequate for lithium batteries, prompting manufacturers to explore more sustainable battery designs, alongside robotic disassembly and ultrasonic techniques to improve recycling rates. Studies have shown that mining for new lithium requires significantly more water and energy than recycling and results in declining vegetation near mines.

Lithium-ion batteries are the standard for rechargeable devices

The costly setup of new mining operations and challenges with recycling amid growing demand have led researchers to search for alternatives, including sodium-ion, solid-state, and lithium-sulphur batteries, despite challenges with scalability.

Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia hold more than 75% of the world’s supply of lithium

Despite the dependence of phones, laptops, electric cars, and other technologies on the soft, silvery-white metal for their batteries, residents of the Lithium Triangle have not seen the benefits of investments into mining this critical mineral, and have instead faced water shortages and pollution.

From 1991 to 2024, lithium-ion battery cell prices have fallen by 99%

The decrease from about $10,000 to $50 per kilowatt-hour has been driven by innovations in battery chemistry, improvements in manufacturing and supply chains, and increases in global cumulative production, which have caused average price declines of 19% each time it has doubled.

Lithium can store and deliver substantial energy for its cost and weight

When exploring which compounds would be best suited for batteries, scientists sought elements that were relatively inexpensive to mine, readily available, and that provided high energy density—how much chemical energy an element could store for its size. Lithium-ion batteries provide these benefits and discharge at very low rates when unused.

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.

Legacy electronics have prevented significant advancements in alkaline batteries

While lithium-ion batteries have increased in energy density multiple times since their commercialization in 1991 and can be sized to various capacities by connecting numerous electrochemical cells, disposable alkaline batteries have been forced to maintain their 1.5-volt standard and form factors for compatibility with existing devices.

A visual exploration of the environmental impacts and uncertain demand for deep-sea mining

While models suggest demand for crucial metals is expected to exceed supply through 2050, new battery technologies, such as those that require no nickel or cobalt, introduce uncertainty that opponents of deep-sea mining see as not worth the risk of certain environmental damage, which includes noise and light pollution and the release of toxic plumes from mining equipment.

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.

View the five most expensive metals used to make batteries

Before 2021, when lithium carbonate became the most expensive metal for use in electric vehicle cathodes, cobalt was the most costly battery metal. Of the top five, copper is the only metal not used in cathodes, arguably the most important part of the battery, which determines performance, longevity, and range.

The first lithium-ion battery was invented at ExxonMobil

Initially a side project that became a priority due to the 1973 oil crisis, the battery's flammability risks and manufacturing challenges, along with the waning crisis, led the company to shut down its battery program. Other researchers would gradually improve upon published prototype designs in the next decade.

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 the human and environmental resources needed to make an electric vehicle

The minerals needed to build batteries for electric vehicles are expensive and often take a human toll paid by the communities where they are mined. This interactive article details what minerals make up an electric vehicle battery, where they come from, and dangers posed by the mining process.

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.

Why it's so hard to end the use of toxic lead

Lead was one of the earliest metals mined on Earth, desired for its soft malleability and used in cosmetics, pipework, gasoline, and more. But even though researchers demonstrated its toxicity in the 20th century, much of the world still uses it.

Unless prices of fossil fuels rise significantly, their production is expected to slow

US oil and natural gas production skyrocketed from 2000 to 2020, largely due to advances in fracking. However, weak global energy prices have prevented this boom from translating into increased profits for fossil fuel companies.

More batteries in the power grid would create an on-demand energy reservoir

Most power grids are inefficient because they require enough generation capacity at all times to avoid blackouts. This means at any given time, as much as 50% of generating capacity at power plants can go unused. Batteries would reduce this inefficiency and allow for real-time adjustments.

By 2028, data center power consumption may equal 22% of US households

Date from 2023 suggests that data centers accounted for around 4.4% of US electricity consumption, with new facilities supporting the AI boom consuming more power than the state of New Hampshire annually. However, the energy impact of individual use varies widely depending on the prompt and AI model. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Nearly 40% of American cars were electric in 1899

They were most common in cities, where battery swap stations allowed drivers to "refuel" their vehicles reliably. Innovations in combustion engines caused electric cars to lose ground until environmental policies and advances in battery technology revitalized interest.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

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

Learn how helium is used in the US, the world's largest producer of the noble gas

About 44% of the global supply comes from the US, as much as the next two biggest producers—Qatar and Russia—combined. According to the US Geological Survey, more than half of this helium is used in scientific and engineering equipment (22%), non-welding-related manufacturing and fabrication (17%), and as a lifting agent (17%).

Ranking the world’s economies: 1980 vs. 2025

The US remains the world’s largest economy, having increased its annual gross domestic product from $2.9T in 1980 to $30.6T in 2025. In 1980, China ranked seventh globally with a GDP of $304B. In 2025, China ranked second with a GDP of $19.4T.

President Trump ordered an end to US production of the penny in 2025

The US will stop producing pennies after more than 233 years in 2026, though they will still be considered legal tender. It takes roughly three cents to produce a single penny, with an annual price tag of nearly $100M.

The decline of the landline in the US

It costs 35% less to maintain AT&T's fiber subscribers than it does to keep up its legacy copper lines, a big difference leading the major phone company to plan to end its copper lines by 2030. Tens of millions of households still utilize a landline phone in the US, but they've been trending downward for at least two decades as people have gone wireless. Learn the trends and see the data visualized in this article.

Over a lifetime, the average American's nuclear power usage creates a hockey puck of nuclear waste

Spent nuclear fuel remains hot and highly radioactive for long periods, requiring submersion in cooling pools before being stored in dry casks and deep underground repositories. The potential recycling of nuclear waste is impeded by security concerns and dangerous reprocessing methods, particularly when obtaining fresh uranium is often easier.

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

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

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.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

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.

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

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

The 2026 Ebola outbreak is hampered by a lack of vaccine against the species of the virus, heightening the need for rapid tests to aid in disease control.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Some researchers have labeled nomophobia, the fear of being without your phone, as 'the phobia of the 21st century.'

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

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.

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.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.