# Lithium-Ion Battery The rechargeable battery chemistry that powers almost every portable device — phones, laptops, earbuds, e-bikes, and electric vehicles. Lithium ions shuttle between two electrodes as the cell charges and discharges; the chemistry packs a lot of energy into a small, light package, which is what made mobile computing and EVs practical. The same energy density makes the cells flammable when damaged, overcharged, or poorly manufactured (the reason for airline restrictions and recall headlines). Batteries also degrade with each charge cycle, losing capacity over a few years — the part of a device that most reliably wears out. ## Why it matters here The lithium-ion battery is where several of the vault's hardware concerns physically meet: **Supply chain and geopolitics.** Batteries depend on lithium, nickel, and especially cobalt — and cobalt is the marquee [[Conflict Minerals]] problem, with the majority of world supply coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo under documented conditions of child and artisanal labor. China dominates the midstream refining and cell manufacturing, making batteries a [[Supply Chain]] and [[Tech Decoupling]] flashpoint alongside chips. (Note that lithium and cobalt are not [[Rare Earth Elements]] in the strict chemical sense, though political coverage often lumps all "critical minerals" together.) **Repair and obsolescence.** Because batteries are consumable and degrade, whether you can replace one cheaply largely determines a device's usable lifespan. Manufacturers that glue batteries in, omit replacement parts, or use software to throttle aging batteries turn a $20 consumable into a reason to buy a new device — a core [[Right to Repair]] and [[Planned Obsolescence]] grievance. (Apple's 2017 throttling of iPhones with aging batteries, the "batterygate" episode, is the canonical case.) **E-waste.** Spent lithium cells are hazardous, hard to recycle, and a fire risk in the waste stream — a significant share of the [[E-Waste]] problem. ## See Also - [[Conflict Minerals]] — cobalt and the Congo supply problem - [[Right to Repair]] · [[Planned Obsolescence]] — batteries as the lifespan chokepoint - [[E-Waste]] — the disposal end of the battery lifecycle - [[Supply Chain]] — battery materials as a decoupling front