Critical Minerals in EV Batteries
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Electric vehicle batteries depend on lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite, and traction motors on rare earth magnets. Batteries took 88% of world lithium use in 2025 according to the US Geological Survey, and the International Energy Agency says critical minerals are about one quarter of a battery cell's cost but only about 3% of an average electric car's price. Sales of electric cars rose 20% to more than 20 million in 2025, about one in four new cars sold.
20 million+
electric cars sold worldwide in 2025, up 20%, with about 23 million expected in 2026
Source: IEA Global EV Outlook 2026
about 1/4
of battery cell cost is critical minerals, against about 3% of an average EV's price
60%
of electric cars sold in 2025 were made by Chinese automakers
Source: IEA Global EV Outlook 2026
Which minerals does an EV need, and where do they come from?
The table covers the main battery and motor minerals with the latest supply fact for each. It shows that the supply risk differs by mineral: cobalt and graphite are concentrated in a single country each, nickel is in surplus, and lithium is spread across Australia, China and Chile.
| Mineral | Role | Supply fact | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium | Cathode and electrolyte of lithium-ion cells | Australia 92,000 t, China 62,000 t, Chile 56,000 t of about 290,000 t world output (USGS) | Consumption rose 20% to an estimated 263,000 t |
| Cobalt | Cathode in nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistries; batteries are the leading global use | Congo (Kinshasa) 230,000 t of 310,000 t; export quota of up to 96,600 t a year in 2026-27 (USGS) | Cobalt content per battery is falling; cobalt-free iron-phosphate cells hold significant share in China |
| Nickel | Cathode in high-nickel chemistries; in the US, stainless and alloy steels take more than 85% of nickel use | Indonesia 2.6 Mt of 3.9 Mt (USGS) | Market in surplus since 2022 according to the International Nickel Study Group |
| Graphite | Anode material, natural or synthetic | China about 82% of natural graphite; 55% of US anode material imports in the first eight months of 2025 (USGS) | US preliminary duties of 93.5% antidumping on Chinese anode material in 2025 |
| Magnet rare earths (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium) | Permanent magnets for electric motors | China mined 270,000 t of 390,000 t of oxide (USGS) | Rare earths are about 40% of magnet cost but under 1% of a vehicle's value (IEA) |
Sources: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 chapters; IEA 2026 outlook via Global Mining Review. Role descriptions are general; chemistry varies by vehicle and cell.
How big is the demand, and is it still growing?
Demand is still growing, but unevenly. The IEA's 2026 Global EV Outlook reports that electric car sales grew by 20% in 2025, that Europe grew fastest among the major markets at more than 30% to a 28% share, and that electric cars were nearly 55% of sales in China. Sales fell 8% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier after policy changes in China and the United States, and the IEA still expects about 23 million sales in 2026. In the US, the clean vehicle credit under section 30D is not allowed for vehicles acquired after 30 September 2025, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Why does chemistry matter for mineral demand?
Cell chemistry decides which minerals a battery needs. Nickel-manganese-cobalt cells use nickel and cobalt, while lithium iron phosphate cells use neither. The USGS notes that cobalt-free substitutes using iron and phosphorus held significant market share in China, which is one reason the cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries is being reduced. Lithium and graphite are needed in both. A shift between chemistries therefore moves demand for cobalt and nickel without changing lithium much, which the supply-demand models page treats as a key assumption.
Where are the supply risks?
The risks are concentrated in cobalt, graphite anode material and refining, not in the volume of lithium or nickel. The Democratic Republic of the Congo mined an estimated 73% of the world's cobalt and capped exports in October 2025; China produces most natural graphite and spherical graphite; and the IEA says nearly all growth in refined supply for manganese, nickel and graphite over two years came from a single dominant supplier. See EV supply risks and cathodes and anodes for detail.
Frequently asked questions
What minerals are in an electric vehicle battery?
An electric vehicle battery contains lithium, graphite and, depending on the chemistry, nickel, manganese and cobalt or iron and phosphorus. Rare earth magnets, such as neodymium and dysprosium, are used in the motor, not in the battery.
How much of an EV's cost is critical minerals?
Critical minerals are about one quarter of a battery cell's cost but only about 3% of an average electric car's price, according to the IEA's 2026 Global Critical Minerals Outlook.
Are electric vehicle batteries moving away from cobalt?
Electric vehicle batteries are moving away from cobalt in part. The USGS reports that the cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries is being decreased and that cobalt-free iron-phosphate cells held significant market share in China.
Is the US EV tax credit still available?
The US clean vehicle tax credit under section 30D is not available for vehicles acquired after 30 September 2025, according to the Internal Revenue Service, unless a binding contract and payment were in place on or before that date.
Sources
Read on October 12, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, rare earths
- IEA: Global EV Outlook 2026, executive summary. The IEA site blocks automated readers, so these figures were read from press reports of the outlook, including Engineering News (21 May 2026)
- Global Mining Review: report on the IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 (17 July 2026)
- IRS: FAQs on changes to sections 25E, 30D and 45W (OBBBA)
