View the five most expensive metals used to make batteries

Visualize the minerals used in a lithium-ion battery

The lithium cathode includes nickel to increase energy storage per unit volume, as well as cobalt and manganese as stabilizing agents. Anodes are composed entirely of graphite, with aluminum and copper composing the current collectors for the cathode and anode, respectively. The battery is enclosed in a steel casing.

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.

Watch how metals are extracted from rechargeable devices during recycling

Recyclable batteries found in cars, phones, power tools, and other electronics contain lithium, cobalt, nickel, and other precious metals, whose reuse generates 70% fewer emissions than during their initial mining. Upon shredding these devices, a filter press squeezes the pieces through a proprietary fluid, which separates them for future reuse.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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-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.

Explore options for recycling batteries

Improper battery disposal can lead to fires and the leaching of harmful chemicals and toxic materials into local soil and water systems. Although many batteries contain metals that can be recycled with less energy than it takes to produce them, variability in regulations across municipalities and states can complicate efforts. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

View the most expensive materials on Earth, led by those forged in particle accelerators

Californium-252—valued at $27.8M per gram, as of 2025—is far rarer and more valuable than gold, silver, or diamonds due to production and transportation costs. The most expensive substance ever found or created is antimatter, costing approximately $62.5T per gram.

As of 2025, most EV batteries retain 95% or more of their range after three years

Data from over 30,000 electric vehicles shows that their batteries are lasting much longer than initially projected, which researchers suggest is due to improved battery management systems and real-world use often being less rigorous than high-performance testing. Cars with 150,000 miles or more that have not had a battery replacement retain at least 83% of their original range.

Watch a tour of a battery manufacturing gigafactory

Inside Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited's facility, China's largest EV battery manufacturer uses slurry mixing, "jelly rolling," electrolyte injection, and other techniques and equipment to transform raw metals such as lithium and magnesium into approximately 2.2 million electrochemical cells daily.

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.

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.

The world's largest lemon battery was made from nearly 3,000 lemons

By connecting lemons with a piece of zinc on one side and a piece of copper on the other, a team from the Royal Society of Chemistry created a fruit battery with a capacity of 2,307.8 volts.

Electric vehicle systems run on five key components

The system is made up of a charger—converting AC into DC—a battery, a power control unit, motor(s), and a single gear. A complex gearbox is not needed because electric motors are efficient at operating across a range of speeds.

As of January 2025, Tesla is the second best-selling EV company in the world

Chinese automaker BYD saw nearly three times as many registrations of electric vehicles as Tesla through the sales of its plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Fellow Chinese competitor Geely sold 12.7% of all BEVs worldwide, surpassing Tesla's 12.4% share during the same period.

Batteries are likely to stop working sooner in cold temperatures

The electrolyte separating the cathode and anode of a battery can thicken, impeding ion flow. Lower temperatures also slow the rate of chemical reactions, further reducing battery capacity. Large draws of power, such as when using heaters, heated seats, etc., in a car during winter, exacerbate battery drain further.

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.

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

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

See how fireworks are made and which metals are responsible for different colors

This roughly five-minute video breaks down details about how pyrotechnicians make fireworks, including that magnesium is responsible for white fireworks, copper salts for blue, and charcoal for orange.

An up-to-date, complete ranking of coins by market cap and their current value

As of this writing, the top three cryptocurrencies ranked by market cap are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP, in that order. Dogecoin, the first-ever "memecoin," was created as a joke in 2013, and it's now the ninth-most valuable form of cryptocurrency in the world.

The five most common chemicals found in modern food

Most modern processed foods rely on a number of preservatives to stay fresh from production to our plates. The most common include citric acid (preservative and flavor), sodium benzoate (preservative), xanthan gum (thickening and stabilizing), carrageenan (thickening), and red dyes 3 and 4 (for color).

The most expensive EU countries

Among countries in the European Union, Luxembourg has the highest prices (52% higher than the EU average). Romania seems like it's the cheapest option in the EU at 46% below the EU average. Want to see how other countries such as Italy, France and Germany rank? Explore this color-coded map to learn more.

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.

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.

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.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

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.

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

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

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%.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

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.

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

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.