
These not-so-rare but still increasingly important members of the periodic table are causing supply chain quandaries for global powers including China and the United States.
These not-so-rare but still increasingly important members of the periodic table are causing supply chain quandaries for global powers including China and the United States.
Traditional uses for copper, such as in electricity transmission and construction materials, will still dominate, even as electric vehicle use bumps up demand for the metal. This reality puts its suppliers in a complicated position.
Lithium-ion battery production is increasing demand for the element, which could wind up in short supply. But as technology advances, cobalt's days in the sun are numbered.
The world's lithium resources are almost certainly adequate to satisfy the rising demand for the material. Whether production can keep up, however, will depend on the handful of countries that are poised to dominate the global supply of the world's lightest metal.