Energy
The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements
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The Periodic Table of Endangered Elements
The building blocks for everything on Earth are made from 90 different naturally occurring elements.
This visualization made by the European Chemical Society (EuChemS), shows a periodic table of these 90 different elements, highlighting which ones are in abundance and which ones are in serious threat as of 2021.
On the graphic, the area of each element relates to its number of atoms on a logarithmic scale. The color-coding shows whether there’s enough of each element, or whether the element is becoming scarce, based on current consumption levels.
Element | Full Name | Status |
---|---|---|
Ac | Actinium | Plentiful supply |
Ag | Silver | Serious threat |
AI | Aluminum | Plentiful supply |
Ar | Argon | Plentiful supply |
As | Arsenic | Serious threat |
At | Astatine | Plentiful supply |
Au | Gold | Limited availability |
B | Boron | Limited availability |
Ba | Barium | Plentiful supply |
Be | Beryllium | Plentiful supply |
Bi | Bismuth | Limited availability |
Br | Bromine | Plentiful supply |
C | Carbon | Plentiful supply / serious threat |
Ca | Calcium | Plentiful supply |
Cd | Cadmium | Rising threat |
Ce | Cerium | Plentiful supply |
CI | Chlorine | Plentiful supply |
Co | Cobalt | Rising threat |
Cr | Chromium | Rising threat |
Cs | Cesium | Plentiful supply |
Cu | Copper | Rising threat |
Dy | Dysprosium | Rising threat |
Er | Erbium | Plentiful supply |
Eu | Europium | Plentiful supply |
F | Flourine | Plentiful supply |
Fe | Iron | Plentiful supply |
Fr | Francium | Plentiful supply |
Ga | Gallium | Serious threat |
Gd | Gadolinium | Plentiful supply |
Ge | Germanium | Serious threat |
H | Hydrogen | Plentiful supply |
He | Helium | Serious threat |
Hf | Hafnium | Serious threat |
Hg | Mercury | Limited availability |
Ho | Holmium | Plentiful supply |
I | Iodine | Plentiful supply |
In | Indium | Serious threat |
Ir | Iridium | Rising threat |
K | Potassium | Plentiful supply |
Kr | Krypton | Plentiful supply |
La | Lanthanum | Plentiful supply |
Li | Lithium | Limited availability |
Lu | Lutetium | Plentiful supply |
Mg | Magnesium | Limited availability |
Mn | Manganese | Limited availability |
Mo | Molybdenum | Limited availability |
N | Nitrogen | Plentiful supply |
Na | Sodium | Plentiful supply |
Nb | Niobium | Limited availability |
Nd | Neodymium | Limited availability |
Ne | Neon | Plentify supply |
Ni | Nickel | Limited availability |
O | Oxygen | Plentiful supply |
Os | Osmium | Rising threat |
P | Phosphorus | Limited availability |
Pa | Protactinium | Plentiful supply |
Pb | Lead | Limited availability |
Pd | Palladium | Rising threat |
Po | Polonium | Plentiful supply |
Pr | Praseodymium | Plentiful supply |
Pt | Platinum | Rising threat |
Ra | Radium | Plentiful supply |
Rb | Rubidium | Plentiful supply |
Re | Rhenium | Plentiful supply |
Rh | Rhodium | Rising threat |
Rn | Radon | Plentify supply |
Ru | Ruthenium | Rising threat |
Sb | Antimony | Limited availability |
Sc | Scandium | Limited availability |
Se | Selenium | Limited availability |
Si | Silicon | Plentiful supply |
S | Sulfur | Plentiful supply |
Sm | Samarium | Plentiful supply |
Sn | Tin | Limited availability |
Sr | Strontium | Serious threat |
Ta | Tantalum | Serious threat |
Tb | Terbium | Plentiful supply |
Te | Tellurium | Serious threat |
Ti | Titanium | Plentiful supply |
TI | Thalium | Limited availability |
Tm | Thulium | Plentiful supply |
V | Vanadium | Limited availability |
W | Tungsten | Limited availability |
Xe | Xenon | Plentiful supply |
Y | Yttrium | Serious threat |
Yb | Ytterbium | Plentiful supply |
Zn | Zinc | Serious threat |
Zr | Zirconium | Limited availability |
Th | Thorium | Plentiful supply |
U | Uranium | Rising threat |
While these elements don’t technically run out and instead transform (except for helium, which rises and escapes from Earth’s atmosphere), some are being used up exceptionally fast, to the point where they may soon become extremely scarce.
One element worth pointing out on the graphic is carbon, which is three different colors: green, red, and dark gray.
- Green, because carbon is in abundance (to a fault) in the form of carbon dioxide
- Red, because it will soon cause a number of cataphoric problems if consumption habits don’t change
- Gray because carbon-based fuels often come from conflict countries
For more elements-related content, check out our channel dedicated to raw materials and the megatrends that drive them, VC Elements.

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Energy
Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing (2022-2027P)
This infographic breaks down battery manufacturing capacity by country in 2022 and 2027.

Visualizing China’s Dominance in Battery Manufacturing
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
With the world gearing up for the electric vehicle era, battery manufacturing has become a priority for many nations, including the United States.
However, having entered the race for batteries early, China is far and away in the lead.
Using the data and projections behind BloombergNEF’s lithium-ion supply chain rankings, this infographic visualizes battery manufacturing capacity by country in 2022 and 2027p, highlighting the extent of China’s battery dominance.
Battery Manufacturing Capacity by Country in 2022
In 2022, China had more battery production capacity than the rest of the world combined.
Rank | Country | 2022 Battery Cell Manufacturing Capacity, GWh | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇨🇳 China | 893 | 77% |
#2 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 73 | 6% |
#3 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 70 | 6% |
#4 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 38 | 3% |
#5 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 31 | 3% |
#6 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 16 | 1% |
#7 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 15 | 1% |
#8 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 12 | 1% |
#9 | 🇫🇷 France | 6 | 1% |
#10 | 🇮🇳 India | 3 | 0.2% |
🌍 Other | 7 | 1% | |
Total | 1,163 | 100% |
With nearly 900 gigawatt-hours of manufacturing capacity or 77% of the global total, China is home to six of the world’s 10 biggest battery makers. Behind China’s battery dominance is its vertical integration across the rest of the EV supply chain, from mining the metals to producing the EVs. It’s also the largest EV market, accounting for 52% of global sales in 2021.
Poland ranks second with less than one-tenth of China’s capacity. In addition, it hosts LG Energy Solution’s Wroclaw gigafactory, the largest of its kind in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Overall, European countries (including non-EU members) made up just 14% of global battery manufacturing capacity in 2022.
Although it lives in China’s shadow when it comes to batteries, the U.S. is also among the world’s lithium-ion powerhouses. As of 2022, it had eight major operational battery factories, concentrated in the Midwest and the South.
China’s Near-Monopoly Continues Through 2027
Global lithium-ion manufacturing capacity is projected to increase eightfold in the next five years. Here are the top 10 countries by projected battery production capacity in 2027:
Rank | Country | 2027P Battery Cell Manufacturing Capacity, GWh | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | 🇨🇳 China | 6,197 | 69% |
#2 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | 908 | 10% |
#3 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 503 | 6% |
#4 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 194 | 2% |
#5 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 135 | 2% |
#6 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 112 | 1% |
#7 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 106 | 1% |
#8 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 98 | 1% |
#9 | 🇫🇷 France | 89 | 1% |
#10 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 80 | 1% |
🌍 Other | 523 | 6% | |
Total | 8,945 | 100% |
China’s well-established advantage is set to continue through 2027, with 69% of the world’s battery manufacturing capacity.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is projected to increase its capacity by more than 10-fold in the next five years. EV tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act are likely to incentivize battery manufacturing by rewarding EVs made with domestic materials. Alongside Ford and General Motors, Asian companies including Toyota, SK Innovation, and LG Energy Solution have all announced investments in U.S. battery manufacturing in recent months.
Europe will host six of the projected top 10 countries for battery production in 2027. Europe’s current and future battery plants come from a mix of domestic and foreign firms, including Germany’s Volkswagen, China’s CATL, and South Korea’s SK Innovation.
Can Countries Cut Ties With China?
Regardless of the growth in North America and Europe, China’s dominance is unmatched.
Battery manufacturing is just one piece of the puzzle, albeit a major one. Most of the parts and metals that make up a battery—like battery-grade lithium, electrolytes, separators, cathodes, and anodes—are primarily made in China.
Therefore, combating China’s dominance will be expensive. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. and Europe will have to invest $87 billion and $102 billion, respectively, to meet domestic battery demand with fully local supply chains by 2030.
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