Battery chemistries, compared
NMC, LFP and sodium-ion batteries each draw on a different set of minerals. Here is what that means for the mines behind…
How a permanent magnet works
Permanent magnets store invisible force in their atomic structure. Here is why some do it a thousand times better than…
What a solar panel is made of
A standard solar panel is mostly glass and aluminium, but the materials that make it work — silicon and silver — tell a…
The nuclear fuel cycle
From powdered yellowcake to ceramic fuel pellet, the nuclear fuel cycle passes through chemistry, enrichment and…
Electrolysers and the iridium problem
PEM and alkaline electrolysers split water in different ways, and their contrasting material needs shape where green…
Making steel without coal
How steelmakers are replacing coking coal with hydrogen and electricity, and why the world's scrap supply sets a hard limit…