Materials challenges for electric vehicles

Electric vehicles provide the ability to substantially reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Electric vehicles utilize a fundamentally different powertrain technology compared to conventional vehicles based on the internal combustion of liquid fuels. In this issue of MRS Bulletin, materials challenges related to three key subsystems related to the powertrain of electric vehicles are discussed: batteries, power electronics, and permanent magnets. Given that electric vehicles currently occupy ~20% of the market share and are projected to rapidly rise, a cross-cutting challenge among these systems is the sustainability and resilience of the global supply chain of critical minerals to enable increased adoption of electric vehicles.