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

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.

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 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.

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.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for lithium-ion battery development

Stanley Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery in the early 1970s, while John Goodenough doubled its electrical potential in 1980 by replacing the cathode, thereby enhancing its commercial viability. Five years later, Akira Yoshino developed an anode using carbon material, reducing the risk of flammability.

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.

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.

BYD overcame Tesla via state backing, cheaper cars, and vertical integration

The one-time battery company eclipsed Tesla in total sales in 2024. The Chinese-backed manufacturer targets low- to mid-tier cars and builds 75% of its components in-house. Its cars typically retail at half the cost of similar Tesla models.

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.

Thermal runaway reactions can cause batteries to catch fire or explode

If a lithium-ion battery is heated, punctured, crushed, or short-circuits due to manufacturing flaws or degradation, the cathode and anode can make contact without the resistance provided by a circuit. The ensuing spike in chemical reactions increases the temperature and can release oxygen, initiating and intensifying burning of the battery's interior.

From 1990 to 2020, wind turbine height and blade length have more than tripled

Wind turbines' energy generation capacity—or maximum power rating—also increased by 375% from 1998 to 2023. As of that year, wind turbines can produce more energy per dollar than solar panels, though transportation and installation challenges remain.

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.

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

Among renewable sources, geothermal rivals hydropower in lifetime cost

As of 2024, the levelized cost of energy—the average cost per unit of energy over the lifetime of a power plant—for geothermal power is surpassed only by solar photovoltaic and onshore wind. Geothermal's LCOE has remained relatively unchanged since 2007, with significant decreases held back by significant upfront installation costs.

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.

How SpaceX Made Space Affordable

SpaceX has cut launch costs by over 95%—from $54,000 per kilogram to around $2,000—reshaping how we access space.

Since its introduction, the price of bitcoin has experienced significant volatility

Driven in large part by speculation and intense social media attention during the pandemic, along with the availability of capital during near-zero interest rate periods, the price has seen at least three major crashes despite steadily increasing over the long run since 2014.

Tracing the evolution of mobile phones

The first cell phone was created in 1973, with a 2.4-pound handset and a battery life of about 30 minutes. Since then, pretty much everything about it has drastically changed, with more than 5 billion cellphone users across the globe (that's more than half of the world population). Learn about the evolution of the mobile phone and where the technology may go in the future with this four minute video.

Lasers help build the layers of circuit components in microchips

During the photolithography process, light is projected through a blueprint onto a light-sensitive chemical layer on silicon wafers, etching patterns that become transistors through a series of successive reactions. These processes require significant electricity, as only about 2% of photons reach the wafer.

Batteries, baby wipes, and other Costco buys that might not be worth it

Costco's private label Kirkland sells just about everything at a price many customers say can't be beat. While often a cost-efficient way to buy household goods in bulk, some shoppers not all Kirkland products are created equal and there are some items that aren't worth the cost savings.

Why the $25K car is going extinct

The share of overall new auto sales under $25k was 4.8% in February 2025, according to the automotive pricing source Edmunds. That's down from 23% during the same month in 2019.

Falling demand and lower costs of production cause deflation

"Falling demand" refers to anything that changes someone's willingness to spend money on goods and services. Global recessions, fears of a worldwide recession, and a fall in the money supply are all factors that could lead to falling demand. Likewise, lower production costs allow companies to increase production, which can lead to a surplus in supply.

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

How much do you pay in gas taxes?

The average national price jumped from $3.02 to $4.12 per gallon between March and April in 2026, but state prices range widely, from $3.66 in Texas to $5.79 in California, driven by differences in taxes, proximity to supply, and local competition.

Wedding costs have gone up significantly since the 2020 pandemic lockdowns

In 2020, the average cost of a wedding in the US was $19K—but by 2024, it had surged to more than $33K.

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.

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

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

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.

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.

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

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

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

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.

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

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.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

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.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

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

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

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

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

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

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

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.

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

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight