# Material Insights > A free reference on the material world: 120 commodities, 117 chemicals, 139 parts of the energy system and 36 industries, with where each comes from, who produces it, how it trades and prices, its emissions, criticality and the industries that depend on it. Written in UK English for students, investors and policymakers, with an Indian lens. Every page cites its sources. Each page has a Markdown version at the same address plus `index.md` (for example https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/index.md). Each element page links to its section pages (overview, production, trade, prices and cycles, criticality, emissions and more). `llms-full.txt` holds the summaries of every element and industry in one file. ## Commodities - [Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/water/index.md): Fresh water withdrawn for farms, industry and cities; scarce where demand clusters - [Potash](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/potash/index.md): Potassium fertiliser salt mined from buried ancient seas, with few big suppliers - [Phosphate rock](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/phosphate/index.md): Sedimentary rock mined for fertiliser phosphorus; Morocco holds most reserves - [Nitrogen (ammonia)](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/nitrogen/index.md): Fertiliser nitrogen made from natural gas; feeds urea and DAP - [Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sulfur/index.md): Yellow by-product of cleaning oil and gas, burned to make sulphuric acid - [Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/copper/index.md): Conductive metal for wires and motors; demand rides on grids and EVs - [Aluminium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/index.md): Light metal smelted from bauxite with huge power use, for cars, cans and cables - [Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zinc/index.md): Base metal mostly used to galvanise steel against rust on cars and roofs - [Lead](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lead/index.md): Toxic heavy metal now mainly for car batteries, largely recycled from scrap - [Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/nickel/index.md): Metal that makes stainless steel and dense EV batteries; Indonesian laterites lead - [Tin](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tin/index.md): Solder metal that joins electronics; a small market moved by a few mines - [Iron ore](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/iron_ore/index.md): Rock mined for steelmaking, shipped mainly from Australia and Brazil to China - [Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/steel/index.md): Iron alloyed with carbon; the structural backbone of buildings, machines and transport - [Manganese](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/manganese/index.md): Steel essential added as ferroalloy to remove oxygen and add strength; also in batteries - [Chromium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/chromium/index.md): Alloy metal that makes stainless steel resist rust, smelted into ferrochrome - [Molybdenum](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/index.md): High-melting alloy metal for tough steels, often a copper mining by-product - [Vanadium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vanadium/index.md): Steel strengthener from iron slag, also the electrolyte in vanadium flow batteries - [Niobium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/niobium/index.md): Microalloy that makes steel stronger and lighter, mined almost entirely in Brazil - [Tungsten](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tungsten/index.md): Very hard metal made into carbide cutting tools and drill bits; China dominant - [Silicon](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silicon/index.md): Metal smelted from quartz for aluminium alloys, silicones and polysilicon feed - [Gold](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/gold/index.md): Monetary metal held as jewellery, bars and central bank reserves, rarely consumed - [Silver](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/silver/index.md): Precious metal and best electrical conductor, used in solar cells and electronics - [Platinum](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/platinum/index.md): Dense catalyst metal for diesel exhausts, chemicals and glass, mined in South Africa - [Palladium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/palladium/index.md): Platinum group metal that cleans petrol car exhaust, from Russia and South Africa - [Rhodium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhodium/index.md): Scarcest traded platinum group metal, removes NOx from exhaust; very spiky price - [Diamonds](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/diamond/index.md): Natural gems sold on rarity, plus synthetic industrial grit for cutting and drilling - [Lithium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lithium/index.md): Lightest metal and the charge carrier in rechargeable batteries, from brine or rock - [Cobalt](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cobalt/index.md): Battery and jet engine metal mined as a copper and nickel by-product in Congo - [Graphite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/graphite/index.md): Mined or synthetic crystalline carbon for battery anodes and furnace refractories - [Rare earths](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rare_earths/index.md): Seventeen metals behind magnets in EV motors and wind turbines; China refines most - [Magnesium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/magnesium/index.md): Lightest structural metal for die castings and aluminium alloys; China smelts most - [Titanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/titanium/index.md): Ore that mostly becomes white pigment; a light, strong metal for aircraft too - [Zirconium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zirconium/index.md): Mineral sand by-product used as zircon in tiles and moulds, and in reactors - [Hafnium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/index.md): Zirconium by-product for jet engine superalloys and reactor control rods - [Tantalum](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tantalum/index.md): Corrosion-proof metal for tiny capacitors in phones, mined largely in central Africa - [Antimony](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/index.md): Brittle metalloid for flame retardants, batteries and ammunition; China curbs exports - [Bismuth](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/bismuth/index.md): Dense, low-toxicity metal that replaces lead in solders and stomach remedies - [Gallium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/gallium/index.md): Alumina refining by-product for gallium nitride and arsenide chips; China dominant - [Germanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/germanium/index.md): Zinc and coal by-product for fibre optics, infrared lenses and space solar cells - [Indium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/indium/index.md): Soft zinc by-product whose indium tin oxide coats touchscreens and flat displays - [Tellurium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tellurium/index.md): Copper refining by-product for cadmium telluride thin-film solar panels - [Selenium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/selenium/index.md): Copper refining by-product used in glass, manganese electrolysis and animal feed - [Rhenium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/index.md): Molybdenum by-product that lets jet turbine blades survive extreme heat - [Beryllium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/beryllium/index.md): Light, stiff, toxic metal whose copper alloys make springs and connectors - [Cadmium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/index.md): Toxic zinc by-product for nickel-cadmium batteries, pigments and thin-film solar panels - [Mercury](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mercury/index.md): Only metal liquid at room temperature, phased out but used in artisanal gold mining - [Arsenic](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/arsenic/index.md): Toxic smelting by-product for wood preservatives and gallium arsenide chips - [Scandium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/scandium/index.md): Rare by-product metal that strengthens aluminium alloys and solid oxide fuel cells - [Yttrium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/yttrium/index.md): Heavy rare earth for zirconia ceramics, phosphors and lasers, processed in China - [Strontium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/strontium/index.md): Mined as celestite for drilling mud, ferrite magnets and red fireworks - [Caesium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cesium/index.md): Soft alkali metal for dense drilling brines, catalysts and atomic clocks - [Rubidium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rubidium/index.md): By-product alkali metal for specialty glass, atomic clocks and quantum research - [Thallium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thallium/index.md): Highly toxic smelting by-product for gamma detectors, infrared optics and heart scans - [Thorium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/thorium/index.md): Mildly radioactive rare earth by-product, promoted as a future nuclear fuel - [Helium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/index.md): Inert gas from a few gas fields, vital for MRI magnets and chipmaking - [Boron](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/boron/index.md): Borate salts for heat-resistant glass, fibreglass, fertiliser and magnets; Turkey leads - [Fluorspar](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/index.md): Calcium fluoride mineral, the starting point for nearly all fluorine chemicals - [Barite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/barite/index.md): Heavy barium mineral ground into drilling mud to control oil and gas wells - [Salt](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/salt/index.md): Sodium chloride feeding chlor-alkali plants, food and winter road de-icing - [Soda ash](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/soda_ash/index.md): Sodium carbonate alkali for glass, detergents and lithium carbonate, from trona or salt - [Iodine](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/iodine/index.md): Trace element from Chilean nitrate and Japanese brines for X-ray contrast and health - [Bromine](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/bromine/index.md): Heavy liquid halogen from brines, used mainly in flame retardants and drilling fluids - [Silica sand](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/industrial_sand/index.md): High-silica quartz sand for glass, foundry moulds and fracking, priced by freight - [Feldspar](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/feldspar/index.md): Common crustal mineral ground into a flux for glass and ceramic tiles - [Talc](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/index.md): Softest mineral, ground into filler for plastics, paint and paper; health concerns - [Kaolin & clays](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/clays/index.md): Fine-grained minerals such as kaolin and bentonite for ceramics, paper, drilling mud - [Diatomite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/diatomite/index.md): Fossil algae silica powder used to filter beer, wine, water and oils - [Mica](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/mica/index.md): Sheet silicate split into heat-proof insulators or ground for paint and cosmetics - [Garnet](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/index.md): Hard, dense natural mineral for abrasive blasting, waterjet cutting and filtration - [Perlite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/perlite/index.md): Volcanic glass that puffs up when heated, for insulation, plaster and potting mix - [Vermiculite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/index.md): Mica-like mineral expanded by heat for potting mixes, insulation and fireproofing - [Wollastonite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wollastonite/index.md): Needle-shaped calcium silicate that reinforces ceramics and plastics, replacing asbestos - [Zeolites](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/zeolites/index.md): Porous volcanic minerals that trap odours, ammonia and toxins in feed and filters - [Kyanite](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/kyanite/index.md): Aluminium silicate minerals fired into mullite to line steel, glass and cement kilns - [Asbestos](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/asbestos/index.md): Fibrous fireproof silicate banned in much of the world for lung disease, still mined - [Abrasives](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/abrasives/index.md): Furnace-made grits like fused alumina and silicon carbide for grinding and blasting - [Iron oxide pigments](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/iron_oxide/index.md): Cheap red, yellow and black pigments from rust that colour concrete and bricks - [Cement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cement/index.md): Kiln-made binder that glues concrete together; a major source of industrial CO2 - [Sand & gravel](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sand_gravel/index.md): Loose aggregate dug from rivers and pits for concrete, asphalt and road base - [Crushed stone](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/crushed_stone/index.md): Quarried rock crushed near cities for roads and concrete, rarely shipped far - [Gypsum](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/gypsum/index.md): Soft calcium sulphate rock for wallboard and plaster, and to set cement - [Lime](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lime/index.md): Burnt limestone alkali relied on by steel mills, chemical plants and water works - [Pumice](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/pumice/index.md): Frothy volcanic rock used as lightweight aggregate, pozzolan, abrasive and growing medium - [Peat](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/peat/index.md): Partly decayed bog plants dug for potting media, now curbed as a carbon store - [Maize](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/maize/index.md): Largest grain crop by tonnage, mostly animal feed and, in the US, ethanol - [Wheat](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wheat/index.md): Bread grain grown almost everywhere, traded heavily to North Africa and Asia - [Rice](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rice/index.md): Asia's staple grain, thinly traded, so export bans swing world prices sharply - [Barley](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/barley/index.md): Hardy cereal for animal feed and brewing malt, shipped to Gulf states and China - [Sorghum](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sorghum/index.md): Drought-tolerant grain, a staple in the Sahel and India and a US feed export - [Oats](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/oats/index.md): Cool-climate cereal for porridge, oat milk and animal feed - [Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/soybeans/index.md): Oil and protein bean crushed mainly into livestock feed, with China the top importer - [Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/palm_oil/index.md): Most produced vegetable oil, from tropical plantations mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia - [Rapeseed](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rapeseed/index.md): Cool-climate oilseed, called canola in Canada, for cooking oil, biodiesel and meal - [Sunflower](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sunflower/index.md): Black Sea oilseed crushed into cooking oil, grown mainly in Russia and Ukraine - [Groundnuts](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/groundnuts/index.md): Peanuts grown largely by smallholders, crushed for oil or eaten as nuts - [Coconut oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/coconut/index.md): Lauric oil pressed from dried kernel for soaps, detergents and food, grown in Asia - [Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/sugar/index.md): Sweetener from cane and beet; Brazilian cane doubles as ethanol feedstock - [Coffee](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/coffee/index.md): Roasted seeds of a tropical shrub, grown by smallholders and exposed to weather - [Cocoa](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/index.md): Beans of a tropical tree, chocolate's raw material, grown mostly in West Africa - [Tea](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tea/index.md): Processed leaves of an evergreen bush, priced mostly at auctions, not exchanges - [Oranges & juice](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/orange/index.md): Citrus eaten fresh or juiced, with Brazil dominating the juice trade - [Tobacco](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/tobacco/index.md): Cured leaf grown mainly in China, India and Brazil, sold through leaf merchants - [Pepper & spices](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/spices/index.md): Black pepper and other dried spices, grown mainly in Vietnam, India and Brazil - [Cotton](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cotton/index.md): Leading natural textile fibre from a warm-climate shrub, competing with polyester - [Natural rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rubber/index.md): Latex tapped from Hevea trees, mainly for tyres; synthetics never fully replaced it - [Wool](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/index.md): Premium natural fibre shorn from sheep, losing ground to synthetics for decades - [Jute](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/jute/index.md): Cheap, strong bast fibre from the Bengal delta, spun into sacking and twine - [Timber](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lumber/index.md): Wood sawn into building timber or pulped for paper and packaging - [Beef](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/beef/index.md): Cattle meat with a long herd cycle that ties ranches, feedlots and maize together - [Pork](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/pork/index.md): Pig meat, second by volume, centred on China and exposed to animal disease - [Poultry](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/poultry/index.md): Chicken meat, the cheapest and fastest-growing major meat, fed on maize and soy - [Milk & dairy](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/dairy/index.md): Cow's milk and its butter, cheese and powders; processing makes it tradable - [Eggs](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/index.md): Hen eggs, the cheapest animal protein, laid near consumers and seldom traded far - [Fishmeal & shrimp](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/seafood/index.md): Ocean proteins from feed meal to farmed shrimp, tied to Peru's anchovy catch - [Potatoes](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/potatoes/index.md): Leading root crop, bulky and perishable, mostly eaten near where it grows - [Cassava](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cassava/index.md): Hardy tropical root feeding much of Africa and supplying starch, feed and ethanol - [Bananas](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/bananas/index.md): Tropical export fruit grown largely as one clone threatened by a soil fungus - [Pulses](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/pulses/index.md): Dry lentils and chickpeas that fix their own nitrogen; India is the giant consumer - [Cashew nuts](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cashew/index.md): Tropical tree nut grown in West Africa and India, shelled mostly in Vietnam - [Grapes & wine](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/grapes/index.md): Vine fruit eaten fresh, dried as raisins or made into wine ## Chemicals - [Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/sulphuric_acid/index.md): Most produced industrial acid, made by burning sulphur, for fertiliser and metal leaching - [Nitric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitric_acid/index.md): Strong acid oxidised from ammonia, the route to ammonium nitrate and explosives - [Hydrochloric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrochloric_acid/index.md): Cheap by-product acid of chlorine chemistry for steel pickling and oil wells - [Phosphoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/phosphoric_acid/index.md): Phosphate rock dissolved in sulphuric acid; feeds DAP, MAP and LFP batteries - [Hydrofluoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/index.md): Acid made from fluorspar, gateway to refrigerants, fluoropolymers and chip etching - [Caustic soda](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/caustic_soda/index.md): Main industrial alkali, co-made with chlorine, for alumina, pulp and soaps - [Chlorine](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/chlorine/index.md): Toxic gas from electrolysing brine, the base of PVC and safe drinking water - [Hydrogen peroxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrogen_peroxide/index.md): Clean oxidiser that breaks down to water, for bleaching pulp and making propylene oxide - [Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/titanium_dioxide/index.md): White pigment made from titanium ore, in almost all paint, plastics and paper - [Carbon black](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_black/index.md): Fine carbon from burning heavy oil, reinforcing tyres and colouring inks and plastics - [Sodium silicate](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/sodium_silicate/index.md): Water glass from sand and soda ash; source of silica for tyres and detergents - [Activated carbon](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/activated_carbon/index.md): Porous adsorbent from coconut shell or coal for water, gold and food purification - [Hydrogen](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrogen/index.md): Industrial gas mostly made from gas or coal, used in refining, ammonia and methanol - [Oxygen](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oxygen/index.md): Industrial gas separated from air, used to make steel and keep patients alive - [Nitrogen gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitrogen_gas/index.md): Industrial gas from air separation, used for inerting and food packing - [Argon](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/index.md): Inert gas from air separation plants, shielding welds and chip and solar furnaces - [Carbon dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/carbon_dioxide/index.md): By-product gas from ammonia and ethanol plants, for urea, fizzy drinks and oil fields - [Ammonia](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ammonia/index.md): Nitrogen chemical made from hydrogen and air, the root of nearly all nitrogen fertiliser - [Urea](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/urea/index.md): Most used solid nitrogen fertiliser, made from ammonia and CO2; India a big buyer - [Ammonium nitrate](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ammonium_nitrate/index.md): Fast-acting nitrogen fertiliser that is also the main explosive in mines and quarries - [Ammonium sulphate](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ammonium_sulphate/index.md): Low-cost nitrogen plus sulphur fertiliser, mostly a nylon and coke by-product - [DAP and MAP](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/dap_map/index.md): Granular phosphate fertilisers made from phosphoric acid and ammonia - [Ethylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene/index.md): Largest volume organic chemical, cracked from ethane or naphtha, mostly into polyethylene - [Propylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/propylene/index.md): Second largest olefin gas from crackers and refineries, mostly made into polypropylene - [Butadiene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/butadiene/index.md): Cracker by-product monomer for tyre synthetic rubbers, ABS and nylon intermediates - [Benzene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/benzene/index.md): Simplest aromatic from refining and cracking, the feed for styrene, phenol and nylon - [Toluene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/toluene/index.md): Aromatic solvent and petrol blendstock, converted into xylenes, benzene and TDI - [Paraxylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paraxylene/index.md): Aromatic from refineries that becomes PTA, then polyester fibre and PET bottles - [Styrene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/styrene/index.md): Monomer from benzene and ethylene, polymerised into polystyrene, ABS and SBR rubber - [Phenol and acetone](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/phenol/index.md): Co-products from cumene that feed bisphenol A, phenolic resins and solvents - [Methanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/methanol/index.md): Simplest alcohol from gas or coal, building block for resins and a marine fuel - [Formaldehyde](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/formaldehyde/index.md): Methanol derivative whose resins glue particleboard, MDF and plywood - [Acetic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/acetic_acid/index.md): Vinegar acid made from methanol, for vinyl acetate, PTA, solvents and paracetamol - [MTBE](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/mtbe/index.md): Petrol octane booster from methanol and isobutylene, banned in the US - [Isopropanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/isopropanol/index.md): Fast-drying solvent and disinfectant alcohol used in pharma, inks and chip cleaning - [Ethylene oxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ethylene_oxide/index.md): Reactive toxic gas from ethylene, gateway to glycols, surfactants and sterilising - [Monoethylene glycol](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/meg/index.md): Glycol made from ethylene oxide or coal that pairs with PTA to make polyester - [Propylene oxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/propylene_oxide/index.md): Reactive epoxide from propylene, mostly turned into polyols for polyurethane foam - [Vinyl chloride monomer](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vcm/index.md): Gas made from ethylene and chlorine, polymerised into PVC - [Purified terephthalic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pta/index.md): White powder from paraxylene that pairs with MEG to make all polyester and PET - [Acrylonitrile](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/acrylonitrile/index.md): Propylene and ammonia intermediate for ABS, acrylic fibre and carbon fibre - [Caprolactam](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/caprolactam/index.md): Nylon 6 monomer from benzene, with ammonium sulphate as a big co-product - [Bisphenol A](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/bisphenol_a/index.md): Phenol and acetone building block for polycarbonate and epoxy resins - [Acrylic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/acrylic_acid/index.md): Propylene-derived acid for paint and adhesive acrylates and nappy superabsorbents - [Linear alkylbenzene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab/index.md): Kerosene and benzene feedstock that becomes LAS, the most used detergent surfactant - [Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyethylene/index.md): Soft, flexible LDPE and LLDPE plastics used mostly for packaging film and bags - [High-density polyethylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hdpe/index.md): Stiff polyethylene grade for bottles, crates and pipes; easy to recycle - [Polypropylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polypropylene/index.md): Most produced plastic: light, heat-resistant, for packaging, woven sacks and car parts - [PVC](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pvc/index.md): Chlorine-based plastic for pipes, window frames, cables and flooring; India imports much - [PET resin](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pet/index.md): Clear polyester plastic for drinks bottles, trays and film; the most recycled plastic - [Polystyrene and EPS](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polystyrene/index.md): Rigid and foamed plastic for food packs, appliance liners and insulation boards - [ABS](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/abs/index.md): Tough, glossy engineering plastic for appliance housings, car interiors and toys - [Nylon (PA6, PA66)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nylon/index.md): Polyamide plastics and yarns for textiles, tyre cord, airbags and car parts - [Polycarbonate](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polycarbonate/index.md): Clear, near-unbreakable plastic from bisphenol A for lighting, glazing and devices - [Acrylics (PMMA)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pmma/index.md): Clear acrylic glass for signs, lamps, screens and glazing - [Fluoropolymers (PTFE, PVDF)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fluoropolymers/index.md): Heat- and chemical-proof plastics for chips, batteries and seals; PFAS rules loom - [Styrene-butadiene rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/sbr/index.md): Main synthetic rubber in car tyre treads, made from butadiene and styrene - [Polybutadiene rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polybutadiene/index.md): Synthetic rubber for tyre sidewalls and the toughener in impact polystyrene and ABS - [EPDM](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/epdm/index.md): Weather-resistant synthetic rubber for car door seals, hoses and roofing membranes - [Silicones](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/silicones/index.md): Silicon-oxygen polymers sold as sealants, rubbers and fluids for buildings and electronics - [Polyurethanes (MDI, TDI, polyols)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyurethanes/index.md): Foams, coatings and elastomers from isocyanates and polyols, for insulation and furniture - [Epoxy resins](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/epoxy/index.md): Tough thermosetting resins for coatings, circuit boards and wind turbine blades - [Polyester fibre](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polyester_fibre/index.md): Dominant textile fibre, spun from PTA and MEG; key to Indian textile exports - [Viscose fibre](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/viscose/index.md): Man-made cellulose fibre regenerated from wood pulp, a cotton-like textile - [Unsaturated polyester resins](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/upr/index.md): Low-cost styrene-based resins for glass-fibre pipes, tanks, boats and engineered stone - [Battery cathode materials](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/cathode_materials/index.md): Positive electrode powders like LFP and NMC that set a cell's energy and cost - [Battery anode materials](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/anode_materials/index.md): Negative electrode powders, mostly synthetic graphite, that store lithium in cells - [Battery electrolytes](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electrolytes/index.md): Lithium salt solutions that carry ions between electrodes inside battery cells - [Polysilicon](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polysilicon/index.md): Ultra-pure refined silicon, the base of solar wafers and semiconductor chips - [Electronic specialty gases](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/index.md): Ultra-pure gases that etch, clean, deposit and dope chip layers in fabs - [Ultra-pure wet chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/wet_chemicals/index.md): Acids and solvents purified to parts per trillion to clean and etch chip wafers - [Photoresists](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/photoresists/index.md): Light-sensitive polymers that transfer chip patterns onto wafers; Japan leads - [CMP slurries and pads](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/cmp_slurries/index.md): Abrasive slurries and pads that polish each chip layer flat; a fab consumable - [Refining catalysts](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/refining_catalysts/index.md): Consumable catalysts that crack heavy oil into petrol and strip sulphur from diesel - [Autocatalysts](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/autocatalysts/index.md): Exhaust converters coated with platinum group metals that clean car and truck fumes - [Chemical process catalysts](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/process_catalysts/index.md): Catalysts that run big chemical reactions for ammonia, methanol, plastics and acids - [Plasticisers](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/plasticisers/index.md): Oily esters that make PVC soft for cables, flooring and medical tubing - [Polymer additives](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polymer_additives/index.md): Antioxidants and stabilisers that stop plastics breaking down in processing and use - [Flame retardants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/flame_retardants/index.md): Additives that slow ignition and flame spread in plastics, cables, foams and textiles - [Lubricant additives](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lubricant_additives/index.md): Detergents, dispersants and anti-wear agents that turn base oil into lubricants - [Rubber chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/rubber_chemicals/index.md): Accelerators and antidegradants that vulcanise tyres fast and resist heat and ozone - [Paints and coatings](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paints_coatings/index.md): Decorative, auto and industrial finishes built on TiO2 pigment and oil-based resins - [Adhesives and sealants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/adhesives/index.md): Glues and sealants that bond packaging, furniture, buildings, cars and electronics - [Dyes](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/dyes/index.md): Soluble colourants for textiles, leather and paper, made mostly in China and India - [Organic pigments](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pigments/index.md): Insoluble carbon-based colourants giving durable shades to inks, paints and plastics - [Surfactants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/surfactants/index.md): Cleaning molecules in detergents and shampoos, from oil or palm and coconut chains - [Water treatment chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/index.md): Coagulants, polymers and biocides for drinking water, effluent and cooling towers - [Construction chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/construction_chemicals/index.md): Admixtures, waterproofing and tile adhesives that make concrete stronger and drier - [Oilfield and mining chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/oilfield_chemicals/index.md): Drilling fluids and well additives, plus flotation and leaching reagents for mines - [Flavours and fragrances](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/flavours_fragrances/index.md): Aroma chemicals and blends that give taste and scent to food, soaps and perfume - [Food and feed additives](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/food_additives/index.md): Emulsifiers, preservatives, sweeteners and feed additives for processed food and livestock - [Small-molecule APIs](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/apis/index.md): Purified active molecules in medicines; India's generics base still imports hard inputs - [Pharma starting materials and intermediates](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/ksm_intermediates/index.md): Building blocks one or more steps before an API; India's biggest China dependence - [Paracetamol](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/paracetamol/index.md): Most used painkiller and fever reducer; India leads API supply, key inputs from China - [Antibiotic intermediates (6-APA, 7-ACA)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/index.md): Fermented cores of penicillins and cephalosporins, long China-made, now Indian PLI target - [Peptides and oligonucleotides](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/peptides_oligos/index.md): Chain-molecule drugs such as GLP-1 and siRNA, made in tiny, solvent-heavy batches - [Pharmaceutical excipients](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/excipients/index.md): Inactive tablet fillers, binders and coatings from milk, wood and maize - [Herbicides](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/index.md): Weedkillers such as glyphosate; the largest, mostly generic crop protection class - [Insecticides](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/index.md): Crop pest killers such as pyrethroids and diamides; India's largest agrochemical class - [Fungicides](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fungicides/index.md): Crop disease protection such as triazoles and mancozeb; big for Brazil soybean rust - [Fluorochemicals and refrigerants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fluoro_intermediates/index.md): Refrigerant gases and fluorinated building blocks made from HF under Kigali quotas - [Chiral and specialty building blocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/chiral_building_blocks/index.md): Single-handed molecules such as chiral amines used to build modern drugs and agrochemicals - [Custom synthesis (CDMO)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/custom_synthesis/index.md): Contract drug development and manufacturing for innovators, shifting partly towards India - [Reagents and high-purity lab chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lab_reagents/index.md): High-purity solvents, biochemicals and reference standards for testing and research labs - [Specialty amines and ethanolamines](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/specialty_amines/index.md): Ammonia-derived amines and ethanolamines for drugs, agrochemicals and carbon capture - [Fatty acids](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_acids/index.md): Acids split from palm, coconut and tallow for soaps, cosmetics, tyres and plastics - [Fatty alcohols](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/fatty_alcohols/index.md): Palm kernel, coconut or ethylene alcohols forming the oily tail of detergent surfactants - [Glycerine](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/glycerine/index.md): Sweet by-product of biodiesel and fat splitting, refined for personal care and pharma - [Citric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/citric_acid/index.md): Most used food acid, fermented from sugar by a mould; China sets the price - [Lactic acid and PLA](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/index.md): Sugar-fermented acid polymerised into PLA, the largest compostable bioplastic - [Amino acids (lysine, methionine)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/amino_acids/index.md): Lysine and methionine fed to livestock to balance diets and cut soymeal use - [Industrial enzymes](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/enzymes/index.md): Fermented proteins that speed reactions in detergents, baking, ethanol and feed - [Vitamins](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/vitamins/index.md): Essential micronutrients made by synthesis or fermentation for feed, food and pharma - [Bio-based polyethylene and MEG](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/bio_pe/index.md): Sugarcane-based polyethylene and MEG, identical to fossil versions and sold at a premium - [PHA bioplastics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pha/index.md): Bacteria-grown polyesters that biodegrade in soil and sea; promising but fragile business - [Furfural and furanics (FDCA)](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/furanics/index.md): Corncob and bagasse chemicals, plus sugar-based FDCA for PEF bottles - [Starch and cellulose derivatives](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/starch_derivatives/index.md): Maize, cassava and wheat starch, its modified forms, sugars and cellulose ethers ## Energy - [Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/index.md): Liquid fuel for most transport and plastics feedstock; its price moves inflation - [Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/index.md): Methane piped or shipped as LNG for heat, power and fertiliser hydrogen - [Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/thermal_coal/index.md): Steam coal burned in power stations; still the largest single source of electricity - [Coking coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/coking_coal/index.md): Metallurgical coal baked into coke for blast furnaces; hard to replace in steelmaking - [Uranium](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/index.md): Nuclear reactor fuel, mined then converted, enriched and fabricated by few suppliers - [Low-carbon hydrogen and e-fuels](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/green_hydrogen_carriers/index.md): Clean hydrogen made with little CO2 and fuels from it: green ammonia, e-methanol, e-SAF - [Bioethanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/bioethanol/index.md): Fuel alcohol fermented from cane, molasses, maize or other grains and blended into petrol - [Biodiesel (FAME)](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/biodiesel/index.md): Vegetable oil or waste fat reacted with methanol and blended into diesel - [Renewable diesel and SAF](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/hvo_saf/index.md): Hydrotreated fats made into drop-in diesel and jet fuel, unlike blended FAME - [Biogas and biomethane](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/biomethane/index.md): Gas from digesting manure and waste, upgraded to pipeline grade as CBG in India - [Sunlight](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_sunlight/index.md): Radiant energy from the Sun, the origin of almost every other energy source - [Wind](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_wind/index.md): Moving air driven by uneven solar heating; the raw resource behind all wind tiles - [Water cycle](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydro/index.md): Sun-driven evaporation and rain that refill rivers, the natural resource behind hydropower - [Ocean waves](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_waves/index.md): Wind energy passed into the sea surface; the resource that wave converters tap - [Ocean currents](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_currents/index.md): Steady ocean flows driven by wind and differences in sea temperature and saltiness - [Ocean thermal gradient](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_ocean_thermal/index.md): Temperature gap between warm surface seawater and cold deep water, a resource for OTEC - [Salinity gradient](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_salinity/index.md): Energy released where fresh river water meets salty seawater, known as blue energy - [Biomass](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_biomass/index.md): Solar energy stored in wood, crop residues, dung and energy crops; the natural source - [Ambient heat](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_ambient/index.md): Low-temperature heat in air, ground and water that heat pumps can harvest - [Muscle power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_muscle/index.md): Human and animal work fuelled by food, still vital for farming and carrying - [Methane hydrates](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydrates/index.md): Ice-bound methane under seafloor and permafrost; vast but barely tapped - [Tides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tides/index.md): Sea rise and fall from the pull of Moon and Sun; the raw resource - [Earth's heat](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_geoheat/index.md): Heat from Earth's interior, kept up by radioactive decay; the source behind geothermal - [Fusion fuels](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion_fuels/index.md): Light atoms such as deuterium and lithium that release energy when fused - [Natural hydrogen](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_natural_h2/index.md): Hydrogen gas formed underground by rock reactions; newly found and still being studied - [Solar photovoltaics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/index.md): Panels of cells turning sunlight straight into electricity, from rooftops to utility parks - [Concentrated solar power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_csp/index.md): Mirrors focusing sunlight to raise steam for turbines, often with molten-salt storage - [Solar heat collectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_solar_heat/index.md): Collectors turning sunlight into hot water and process heat rather than electricity - [Passive solar and natural cooling](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_passive/index.md): Building design that gathers or sheds heat and light without machines - [Solar fuels and photosynthesis](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_solar_fuels/index.md): Sunlight stored as chemical energy, in crops or in fuels from artificial photosynthesis - [Onshore wind](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_onshore_wind/index.md): Land-based horizontal-axis turbines, the main source of new wind power capacity - [Offshore wind](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_offshore_wind/index.md): Turbines at sea on fixed foundations or floating platforms; costlier, steadier output - [Small, airborne and traditional wind](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_small_wind/index.md): Rooftop turbines, airborne kites and windmills or sails using wind as motion - [Hydropower dams](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hydro_dams/index.md): Large reservoirs releasing water through turbines; dispatchable power with storage - [Run-of-river and small hydro](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_small_hydro/index.md): River plants with little or no reservoir, down to village micro-hydro - [Wave energy converters](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_wave_power/index.md): Devices turning the up and down motion of waves into electricity - [Tidal and ocean-current power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tidal_power/index.md): Barrages, lagoons and underwater turbines driven by tides and ocean currents - [OTEC and salinity power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_otec/index.md): Plants using ocean temperature or salt differences; some also make fresh water - [Geothermal power plants](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_geo_power/index.md): Plants using natural underground steam or hot water to spin turbines - [Advanced geothermal](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_adv_geo/index.md): Enhanced and closed-loop wells reaching heat where no natural reservoir exists - [Geothermal direct use and ground-source heat pumps](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_geo_direct/index.md): Earth heat used directly for warmth, or shallow ground heat moved by heat pumps - [Biomass combustion and CHP](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_combustion/index.md): Burning wood, residues and pellets in boilers for heat and power - [Thermochemical biomass conversion](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_thermochem/index.md): Gasification and pyrolysis using heat to break biomass into gas, oil or char - [Coal mining](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_coal_mining/index.md): Extracting coal from underground seams or open pits, the start of the coal chain - [Conventional oil and gas production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_conv/index.md): Onshore and offshore wells where oil and gas flow freely from reservoirs - [Unconventional oil and gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/index.md): Shale, tight, oil sands and coalbed methane, needing fracking or special methods - [Nuclear fission reactors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fission/index.md): Reactors splitting uranium or thorium to make steam; steady, low-carbon baseload power - [Fusion reactors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fusion/index.md): Experimental machines joining light atoms as the Sun does; not yet producing power - [Micro energy harvesting](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_micro_harvest/index.md): Tiny power from motion, heat or radio waves for sensors and wearables - [Space-based solar power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_space_solar/index.md): Orbiting collectors that would beam solar power down to Earth; still experimental - [AC transmission](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hvac/index.md): High-voltage overhead AC lines moving bulk power across long distances - [HVDC links](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hvdc/index.md): Direct-current links with lower losses for long distances, undersea and between grids - [Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_distribution/index.md): Local power networks to homes and businesses, plus mini-grids and cross-border links - [Underground, submarine and superconducting cables](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_cables/index.md): Buried and subsea power cables for cities, offshore wind and international links - [Railway electrification and wireless power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_wireless/index.md): Overhead wires and third rails powering trains, plus wireless power transfer - [Oil and product pipelines](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/index.md): Pipelines moving crude and refined products overland and under the sea - [Tankers, barges and fuel trucks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_tankers/index.md): Ships, barges, rail cars and road tankers that move liquid fuels - [Gas pipelines and city gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_gas_pipelines/index.md): High-pressure trunk lines and low-pressure city gas mains carrying natural gas - [LNG chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/index.md): Gas chilled to liquid for shipping by sea, then regasified - [CNG, LPG and biogas distribution](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_cng_lpg/index.md): Cylinders, cascades and tankers delivering compressed or liquefied gas to users - [Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_transport/index.md): Moving hydrogen by pipe, as liquid, or inside ammonia and other carriers - [Coal transport](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_coal_transport/index.md): Moving coal by rail rakes, bulk ships, barges, trucks and conveyors - [Firewood and charcoal supply](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_traditional_fuel/index.md): Informal supply of wood and charcoal by bag and head-load, mostly rural - [Nuclear fuel transport](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_nuclear_transport/index.md): Shielded, licensed containers and casks for fresh and spent nuclear fuel - [District heating and cooling networks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_district_heat_net/index.md): Insulated pipe networks carrying hot water, steam or chilled water across towns - [Heat-transfer fluids and heat pipes](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_carriers/index.md): Thermal oils, molten salts, refrigerants and heat pipes that move heat - [Mechanical power transmission](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_mechanical_transmission/index.md): Shafts, ropes, hydraulics and compressed air moving energy as motion or pressure - [Embodied energy trade](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_embodied/index.md): Energy exported inside metals, fertiliser and computing made where power is cheap - [Lithium iron phosphate batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_li_lfp/index.md): Safer, long-lived lithium chemistry dominant in grid storage and many cheaper EVs - [Nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_li_nmc/index.md): Higher-energy nickel cathode lithium cells for longer-range EVs and electronics - [Next-generation lithium batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_li_next/index.md): Solid-state and lithium-sulphur cells promising more energy; mostly still in development - [Sodium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_sodium_ion/index.md): Lithium-free cells using cheap, plentiful sodium; now entering the market - [Lead-acid batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lead_acid/index.md): Mature, recyclable cells for car starters, UPS units and home inverters - [Nickel-based batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_nickel_batt/index.md): Nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and nickel-iron cells, used in hybrids and rail - [Flow batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_flow_batt/index.md): Liquid electrolytes in tanks, such as vanadium, so capacity scales with tank size - [High-temperature batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_hightemp_batt/index.md): Molten sodium-sulphur and similar cells that run hot for grid storage - [Metal-air batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_metal_air/index.md): Cells that breathe oxygen from air; iron-air aims at multi-day grid storage - [Other and primary batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_other_batt/index.md): Zinc and other emerging rechargeables, plus single-use alkaline and lithium cells - [Pumped hydro storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pumped_hydro/index.md): Water pumped uphill and released through turbines; the largest grid store in the world - [Gravity storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_gravity/index.md): Lifting heavy blocks or weights and lowering them to make power - [Flywheels and small mechanical stores](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_flywheels/index.md): Spinning rotors, springs and hydraulic accumulators giving short bursts of power - [Compressed-air and CO2 storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_caes/index.md): Air or CO2 compressed into caverns or domes, then expanded through turbines - [Liquid air storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_liquid_air/index.md): Air cooled to liquid, then warmed so it expands through a turbine - [Sensible heat storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_sensible_heat/index.md): Heat held by warming water, molten salt, sand, rock or bricks - [Latent heat and cold storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_latent_heat/index.md): Phase-change materials and ice stores that hold energy by melting or freezing - [Carnot batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_carnot/index.md): Electricity stored as heat and cold, then turned back into electricity - [Hydrogen storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_h2_storage/index.md): Compressed gas, liquid, salt cavern and metal hydride stores of hydrogen - [Ammonia, methanol and e-fuels](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_efuels_store/index.md): Synthetic molecules holding energy for months, burned or cracked back to hydrogen - [Fuel stocks and strategic reserves](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fuel_stocks/index.md): Tanks, caverns and stockpiles of oil, gas and coal, including strategic reserves - [Biomass and biofuel stores](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_store/index.md): Energy kept in wood piles, pellets, charcoal, biofuels and stored biogas - [Thermochemical storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_thermochem_store/index.md): Reversible reactions that absorb heat and release it later, with little loss - [Explosives and propellants](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_propellants/index.md): Chemical stores built to release energy very fast, for mining and rockets - [Capacitors and supercapacitors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_supercaps/index.md): Devices storing charge in an electric field; very fast and very long-lived - [Superconducting magnetic storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_smes/index.md): Energy held in the magnetic field of a superconducting coil; niche, very fast - [Demand response and vehicle-to-grid](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_demand_flex/index.md): Shifting when power is used: smart appliances, pre-cooling and parked EVs - [Natural reservoirs](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_natural_stores/index.md): Snowpack, lakes, glaciers, oceans and ground heat acting as nature's own stores - [Steam turbines and thermal power plants](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_steam_turbines/index.md): Boilers raising steam to spin turbines in coal, nuclear, biomass and waste plants - [Gas turbines and combined cycle](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_gas_turbines/index.md): Turbines burning natural gas for peaking, or paired with steam for high efficiency - [Internal combustion engines and gensets](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_engines/index.md): Petrol, diesel and gas piston engines in vehicles, ships and backup generators - [Generators and alternators](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_generators/index.md): Machines turning rotation into electricity in almost every power plant - [Electric motors and drives](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/index.md): Machines turning electricity into motion; they use about half the world's power - [Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_power_electronics/index.md): Transformers, inverters and converters that change voltage and switch between AC and DC - [Fuel cells](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fuel_cells/index.md): Cells turning hydrogen or other fuels straight into electricity, with heat as by-product - [Electrolysers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_electrolysers/index.md): Equipment using electricity to split water into hydrogen, or brine into chlorine - [Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/index.md): Compressor machines moving heat for space heating, air conditioning and refrigeration - [Electric heating](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_electric_heat/index.md): Resistance, induction, arc furnace and microwave heating driven by electricity - [Lighting and displays](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lighting/index.md): Turning electricity into light, from LEDs and lasers to screens - [Boilers, furnaces and stoves](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_combustion_heat/index.md): Fuel-burning industrial boilers, kilns, furnaces and household cooking stoves - [Refining and reforming](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_refining/index.md): Refineries and reformers turning crude oil and gas into fuels and hydrogen - [Power-to-X](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_power_to_x/index.md): Clean electricity made into hydrogen, then e-fuels and chemicals; the conversion step - [Combustion road vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/index.md): Cars, trucks and buses running on petrol, diesel, CNG or LPG - [Electric and hybrid vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_evs/index.md): Battery-electric and hybrid vehicles, the main new demand for lithium-ion cells - [Rail traction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rail_traction/index.md): Electric trains and metros on overhead wires, plus diesel-electric locomotives - [Aviation propulsion](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_aviation/index.md): Jet, turboprop and helicopter engines burning jet fuel or SAF - [Ship propulsion](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_marine/index.md): Marine diesel and LNG engines, wind-assisted and nuclear ships moving world trade - [Rockets and human power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_rockets/index.md): Chemical rockets and muscle-powered bicycles, the two extremes of transport energy - [Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/index.md): Steel, cement, aluminium, ammonia and chlor-alkali, where energy dominates costs - [Energy in buildings](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_buildings/index.md): Cooking, water heating, cooling and appliances in homes and offices - [Data centres](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_data_centres/index.md): Energy view of server halls turning electricity into computing and waste heat - [Energy in farming](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_agri_energy/index.md): Irrigation pumps, fertiliser and draught power: the energy it takes to grow food - [Recuperators and regenerators](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_recuperators/index.md): Hot exhaust preheating combustion air in furnaces, kilns and glass melting - [Boiler heat recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_boiler_recovery/index.md): Economisers and blowdown recovery reclaiming flue gas and hot water heat - [Heat exchangers and pinch integration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_exchangers/index.md): Passing heat between process streams, and pinch design to share hot and cold - [Waste heat for drying, water and food](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_waste_heat_uses/index.md): Low-grade heat drying products, desalinating water and warming greenhouses - [Waste-heat power (steam Rankine)](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_whr_rankine/index.md): Hot exhaust raising steam for power in cement, steel, glass and acid plants - [Organic Rankine, Kalina and sCO2 cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_orc/index.md): Special working fluids making power from lower-temperature heat than steam needs - [Engine exhaust recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_engine_recovery/index.md): Turbochargers and turbo-compounding that reuse engine exhaust energy - [Combined heat and power](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_chp/index.md): Making electricity and useful heat, or cooling, from the same fuel - [Bagasse and black-liquor cogeneration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_bio_cogen/index.md): Sugar and paper mills burning bagasse or black liquor for own steam and power - [Steel plant energy recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_steel_recovery/index.md): Coke dry quenching, top-gas turbines and gas reuse inside steelworks - [Pressure and flow recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pressure_recovery/index.md): Expanders and turbines turning surplus gas or water pressure into power - [Regenerative braking and motion recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_regen_braking/index.md): Capturing energy as vehicles, lifts, cranes and motors slow down - [Flare and off-gas recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_flare_recovery/index.md): Capturing gas that oilfields and plants would otherwise flare or vent - [Waste-to-energy](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_waste_to_energy/index.md): Incineration, landfill gas and fuels recovering energy from rubbish and residues - [LNG cold and cryogenic recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng_cold/index.md): Using the cold released when LNG or liquid air warms back into gas - [Industrial heat pumps and vapour recompression](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_industrial_hp/index.md): Heat pumps and vapour recompression lifting waste heat to process temperatures - [Shared and district heat reuse](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_shared_heat/index.md): One site's waste heat warming others: data centres, sewers, metros and factories - [Building heat recovery](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_building_recovery/index.md): Ventilation heat recovery and drain heat reuse in homes, hotels and offices - [Electrical loss reduction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_electrical_recovery/index.md): Power factor correction and efficient equipment that cut electrical losses ## Industries - [Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/water_sanitation/index.md): Utilities and treatment firms supplying clean water and handling wastewater and sludge - [Metal products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/metal_products/index.md): Fabricators making castings, forgings, tubes, fasteners and cans from steel and metals - [Building materials](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/index.md): Cement, concrete, bricks, tiles, glass and gypsum board made from quarried minerals - [Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/plastic_rubber/index.md): Converters moulding resins and rubber into packaging, pipes, films, tyres and seals - [Wood products](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/wood_products/index.md): Sawmills and panel makers producing plywood, MDF, engineered timber and wood pellets - [Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/waste_recycling/index.md): Collecting, sorting and treating waste, returning metals, paper and plastics to use - [Textiles and leather](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/textiles/index.md): Spinning, weaving and processing fibres into yarn and fabric, and hides into leather - [Paper and packaging](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/paper_packaging/index.md): Pulp and paper mills and converters making boxes, cartons, sacks and tissue - [Electrical equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/electrical_equipment/index.md): Makers of motors, transformers, switchgear, cables and inverters for power systems - [Furniture](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/furniture/index.md): Makers and sellers of home, office and outdoor furniture, mattresses and kitchens - [Food and beverage processing](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/food_beverage/index.md): Processors turning crops, milk, meat and fish into packaged, branded food and drink - [Pharmaceuticals](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/pharmaceuticals/index.md): Drug discovery, manufacturing and distribution, from small-molecule generics to biologics - [Machinery and equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/machinery/index.md): Machine tools, construction and mining equipment, tractors, pumps and process plant - [Household and personal care](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/household_care/index.md): Detergents, soaps, shampoos, skin and oral care, tissue and nappies for consumers - [Apparel and footwear](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/apparel/index.md): Brands and garment makers selling finished clothing, shoes and accessories to shoppers - [Real estate](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/real_estate/index.md): Developers, landlords and managers of homes, offices, warehouses and shops - [Construction and infrastructure](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/construction/index.md): Contractors building roads, rail, ports, power and water networks and buildings - [Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/vehicles/index.md): Cars, two-wheelers, trucks, ships, rail and aircraft makers and suppliers - [Computers and electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/computers_electronics/index.md): Assemblers turning chips and displays into phones, PCs, servers and consumer devices - [Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/semiconductors/index.md): Chip designers and fabs making logic, memory, analogue and power chips from silicon - [Wholesale and retail trade](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/wholesale_retail/index.md): Distributors, warehouses and stores moving finished goods from factories to households - [Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/transport_logistics/index.md): Shipping, road, rail and air freight, warehousing and passenger transport operators - [Data centres and cloud](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/data_centres/index.md): Server halls and cloud providers renting compute, storage and networks; heavy power users - [Telecommunications](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/telecom/index.md): Mobile, fibre, subsea cable and satellite operators carrying voice and data - [Aerospace and defence](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/aerospace_defence/index.md): Civil aircraft, military platforms, weapons, satellites and launch vehicle makers - [Medical devices](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/medical_devices/index.md): Syringes, implants, scanners, monitors and diagnostic tests for hospitals and clinics - [Education and research](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/education_research/index.md): Schools, universities, training providers and public or corporate labs building skills - [Finance: banking, insurance, markets](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/finance/index.md): Banks, insurers, markets and payment rails that lend, insure and invest money - [Media and entertainment](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/media_entertainment/index.md): Film, television, music, news, games and live events funded by viewers and ads - [Software and IT services](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/software_it/index.md): Operating systems, business applications and outsourced IT services, a core Indian export - [Healthcare services](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/healthcare/index.md): Hospitals, clinics, laboratories and pharmacies that diagnose, treat and care for patients - [E-commerce and digital marketplaces](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/ecommerce/index.md): Online marketplaces and apps linking sellers, payments, warehouses and delivery fleets - [Hospitality and tourism](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/hospitality_tourism/index.md): Hotels, restaurants, airlines, attractions and booking sites serving travellers - [AI and digital platforms](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/ai_platforms/index.md): Model builders and apps selling AI as assistants, APIs and copilots, not hardware - [Professional services](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/professional_services/index.md): Audit, tax, legal, consulting and engineering design firms selling expert judgement - [Public administration, defence and security](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/public_admin/index.md): Governments raising taxes to fund law, defence, regulation and public services ## Relationships between them - [Sulfur and Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulfur-and-sulphuric-acid/index.md): Most sulphur ends up as sulphuric acid: it is burned to sulphur dioxide and converted to acid, mainly for phosphate fertiliser and metal… - [Copper and Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-sulphuric-acid/index.md): Copper and sulphuric acid are tied both ways: smelting sulphide concentrates makes roughly 4 tonnes of acid per tonne of copper, while… - [Sulphuric acid and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/sulphuric-acid-and-zinc/index.md): Most zinc is made by roasting sulphide concentrate, and the sulphur dioxide given off is turned into sulphuric acid, so every zinc smelter… - [Phosphate rock and Phosphoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/phosphate-rock-and-phosphoric-acid/index.md): Phosphoric acid is the step through which almost all mined phosphate reaches fertiliser: rock is dissolved in sulphuric acid, and roughly… - [Caustic soda and Salt](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/caustic-soda-and-salt/index.md): Caustic soda is made by passing electricity through salt brine, so each tonne needs roughly one and a half tonnes of salt, but salt is… - [Chlorine and Salt](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-salt/index.md): Almost all chlorine is made from salt: electrolysing brine yields chlorine together with caustic soda, using about 1.65 tonnes of salt per… - [Titanium and Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/titanium-and-titanium-dioxide/index.md): Titanium dioxide pigment is the main use of titanium ore, so the white pigment market, not aircraft metal, largely sets the price of… - [Carbon black and Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/carbon-black-and-crude-oil/index.md): Carbon black is made by partly burning heavy aromatic oil from crude refining, and tyre makers buy much of it on crude-linked formulas, so… - [Hydrogen and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrogen-and-natural-gas/index.md): Steam reforming of natural gas makes most of the world's hydrogen, using 290 bcm of gas in 2024, so gas sets grey hydrogen's cost; carbon… - [Hydrogen and Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrogen-and-water/index.md): Electrolysis makes hydrogen by splitting water, using about 9 litres of purified water per kilogram before cooling needs. The volumes are… - [Ammonia and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-natural-gas/index.md): Most of the world's ammonia is made from natural gas, which supplies both the hydrogen and the process heat, so gas is most of an ammonia… - [Ammonia and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-thermal-coal/index.md): About a quarter of the world's ammonia is made by gasifying coal, almost all of it in China, where coal is cheaper and more secure than… - [Natural gas and Urea](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-urea/index.md): Urea is gas turned into a solid fertiliser: gas supplies the hydrogen for ammonia and most of the energy, so gas is the largest cost and… - [DAP and MAP and Phosphate rock](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/dap-and-map-and-phosphate-rock/index.md): DAP and MAP are the main products made from phosphate rock: each tonne of DAP needs about 1.5 to 2 tonnes of rock, turned into phosphoric… - [DAP and MAP and Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/dap-and-map-and-sulfur/index.md): Phosphate fertiliser plants burn sulphur to make the sulphuric acid that dissolves phosphate rock, using about 0.4 tonnes of sulphur per… - [Crude oil and Ethylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-ethylene/index.md): Outside the US and the Gulf, much ethylene is cracked from crude-derived naphtha, so oil sets its cost; naphtha crackers yield as little… - [Ethylene and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-natural-gas/index.md): Ethane separated from natural gas cracks into ethylene at over 80% yield, against about 30% for naphtha, so gas-rich regions make the… - [Crude oil and Propylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-propylene/index.md): Most propylene is a by-product of cracking crude-derived naphtha and of refinery catalytic crackers, so oil sets its cost, but propane… - [Benzene and Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/benzene-and-crude-oil/index.md): Benzene is extracted from naphtha-derived streams in refineries and crackers, so crude oil sets its cost floor; producers earn the benzene… - [Benzene and Coking coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/benzene-and-coking-coal/index.md): When coking coal is baked into coke for steelmaking, the oven gas carries crude benzol, which is recovered and refined into benzene. It is… - [Crude oil and Paraxylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-paraxylene/index.md): Paraxylene is separated from refinery reformate made from crude-derived naphtha, so crude sets its cost and producers earn the paraxylene… - [Methanol and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/methanol-and-natural-gas/index.md): Outside China almost all methanol is made by reforming natural gas, which is its main cost, so plants are built where gas is cheap and… - [Methanol and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/methanol-and-thermal-coal/index.md): China makes most of its methanol, the world's largest share, by gasifying coal, so Chinese coal costs shape the marginal tonne in Asia… - [Monoethylene glycol and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/monoethylene-glycol-and-thermal-coal/index.md): About two fifths of China's glycol capacity now runs on coal-based syngas rather than ethylene, so Chinese coal costs help set the floor… - [PVC and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/pvc-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Most Chinese PVC is made from coal through calcium carbide and acetylene, an electricity-hungry, mercury-dependent route, so Chinese coal… - [Natural rubber and Styrene-butadiene rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-rubber-and-styrene-butadiene-rubber/index.md): Natural rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber split the world rubber market roughly in half and are bought by the same tyre makers, but they… - [Battery cathode materials and Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/battery-cathode-materials-and-nickel/index.md): Nickel is a main metal in NMC and NCA cathodes, but stainless steel still takes just under 70% of primary nickel and the spread of… - [Rubber chemicals and Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rubber-chemicals-and-sulfur/index.md): Sulphur and rubber chemicals are the two halves of the cure that turns raw rubber into a tyre: sulphur forms the cross-links and… - [Palm oil and Surfactants](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/palm-oil-and-surfactants/index.md): Many cleaning surfactants start from palm, mainly from palm kernel oil, whose short-chain lauric fats make the fatty alcohols behind… - [Cement and Construction chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cement-and-construction-chemicals/index.md): Construction chemicals and cement are used together: admixtures are dosed into cement-based concrete to cut water and cement, grinding… - [Copper and Fungicides](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-fungicides/index.md): Copper salts such as copper oxychloride, copper hydroxide and Bordeaux mixture are among the oldest fungicides and remain a mainstay of… - [Bioethanol and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bioethanol-and-sugar/index.md): Sugar and ethanol are made from the same cane, so mills in Brazil and India choose how much sucrose to turn into each. In India the choice… - [Bioethanol and Maize](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bioethanol-and-maize/index.md): Maize is the main feedstock for US ethanol, with about a third of the 2025/26 US crop expected to go to distilleries, and India turned… - [Bioethanol and Rice](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bioethanol-and-rice/index.md): In India, rice from the government's surplus stocks has become a major ethanol feedstock, sold to distilleries at a fixed price. Its use… - [Biodiesel (FAME) and Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biodiesel-fame-and-palm-oil/index.md): Palm oil is the feedstock for Indonesia's biodiesel programme, which used 14.2 million kL in 2025, so each rise in the blend mandate takes… - [Biodiesel (FAME) and Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biodiesel-fame-and-soybeans/index.md): Soybean oil, the smaller of the two products of crushing soybeans, is the main feedstock for biodiesel in the US and Brazil, and USDA… - [Palm oil and Renewable diesel and SAF](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/palm-oil-and-renewable-diesel-and-saf/index.md): Palm oil is the largest single feedstock for diesel-type biofuels worldwide, and its mill residues are prized as waste-based inputs for… - [Biogas and biomethane and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biogas-and-biomethane-and-sugar/index.md): Every tonne of cane crushed for sugar leaves 3 to 4% of its weight as press mud, a wet residue that digests well into biogas, so India's… - [Fatty alcohols and Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/fatty-alcohols-and-palm-oil/index.md): Most fatty alcohols for detergents and personal care are made from palm kernel oil and other plant oils, so their price moves closely with… - [Maize and Starch and cellulose derivatives](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-starch-and-cellulose-derivatives/index.md): Maize is the main raw material for starch: wet milling turns a 56 lb bushel into about 31.5 lb of starch plus feed and oil co-products… - [Coal mining and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/coal-mining-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Thermal coal is what most coal mines sell, so mine output and power station demand move together. In India the link runs through Coal… - [Coal mining and Coking coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/coal-mining-and-coking-coal/index.md): Coking coal is the premium product of coal mining, dug from specific seams and washed to steelmaking grade; India mines about 67 Mt but… - [Crude oil and Unconventional oil and gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-unconventional-oil-and-gas/index.md): Shale and other unconventional oil is crude sold into the same market, but its output would fall by more than 35% within a year if… - [Conventional oil and gas production and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/conventional-oil-and-gas-production-and-natural-gas/index.md): Most of the world's gas comes from conventional fields, either gas reservoirs or as associated gas produced alongside oil. Associated gas… - [Natural gas and Unconventional oil and gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-unconventional-oil-and-gas/index.md): Shale and tight formations now supply most US gas, which turned the United States into a net exporter and the world's largest LNG seller.… - [Nuclear fission reactors and Uranium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nuclear-fission-reactors-and-uranium/index.md): Uranium is the fuel of almost all fission reactors, but it is a small part of the cost of nuclear power, so reactors keep running through… - [Offshore wind and Underground, submarine and superconducting cables](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/offshore-wind-and-underground-submarine-and-superconducting-cables/index.md): Every megawatt-hour from an offshore wind farm reaches land through subsea export cables, so a few cable makers with factories booked into… - [Bioethanol and Combustion road vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bioethanol-and-combustion-road-vehicles/index.md): Almost all fuel ethanol is burned in petrol vehicles, so blending mandates such as India's E20 decide its market, while its lower energy… - [Aviation propulsion and Renewable diesel and SAF](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aviation-propulsion-and-renewable-diesel-and-saf/index.md): Sustainable aviation fuel is a drop-in replacement for jet fuel that existing engines can burn in blends, but it was only about 0.6% of… - [Refining and reforming and Renewable diesel and SAF](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/refining-and-reforming-and-renewable-diesel-and-saf/index.md): Renewable diesel and SAF are made with refinery kit, hydrotreaters and hydrogen, so oil refiners make them either by co-processing fats… - [AC transmission and Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-transformers-and-power-electronics/index.md): Every AC line begins and ends at a transformer, so transformer supply now limits how fast grids can grow: prices rose about 75% since 2019… - [AC transmission and Pumped hydro storage](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-pumped-hydro-storage/index.md): Pumped storage plants are the grid's oldest form of large-scale storage: they pump water uphill with surplus grid power and return it at… - [AC transmission and Lithium iron phosphate batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries/index.md): Grid batteries, now mostly LFP, charge from the transmission grid when power is cheap and feed it back at the evening peak, and India is… - [AC transmission and HVDC links](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-hvdc-links/index.md): HVDC and AC lines both move bulk power, but DC wins beyond a break-even distance of roughly 300 to 800 km overhead or 50 to 100 km of… - [Gas pipelines and city gas and LNG chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/gas-pipelines-and-city-gas-and-lng-chain/index.md): In India, about half the gas consumed arrives as LNG, and regasified LNG only reaches users if the pipeline grid connects the coastal… - [Electric and hybrid vehicles and Lithium iron phosphate batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-and-hybrid-vehicles-and-lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries/index.md): LFP became the most used EV battery chemistry in 2025 because it is the cheapest per kWh, which is what makes low-priced electric cars… - [Electric and hybrid vehicles and Nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-and-hybrid-vehicles-and-nickel-rich-lithium-ion-batteries/index.md): Nickel-rich NMC cells store more energy per kilogram, so they remain the choice for long-range and premium EVs, especially outside China.… - [Data centres and Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-transformers-and-power-electronics/index.md): Every data centre sits behind a chain of transformers, switchgear, uninterruptible power supplies and converters, so its build-out… - [Energy in buildings and Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/energy-in-buildings-and-heat-pumps-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration/index.md): Heat pumps, air conditioners and fridges are how buildings turn electricity into heating and cooling, and cooling is now a main driver of… - [Data centres and Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-heat-pumps-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration/index.md): Almost every watt a server draws becomes heat, so cooling machinery (chillers, compressors and air handlers) uses a large share of a data… - [Biomass and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biomass-and-sugar/index.md): Every 100 tonnes of cane crushed for sugar leaves about 30 tonnes of wet bagasse, which mills burn for their own steam and power and… - [Copper and Onshore wind](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-onshore-wind/index.md): An onshore wind farm uses about 2.5 to 7 tonnes of copper per MW, most of it in cables and earthing across the site rather than in the… - [Offshore wind and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/offshore-wind-and-steel/index.md): Offshore wind is built largely of heavy steel plate: monopile foundations alone take around 200 t per MW, and foundations and towers were… - [Hydropower dams and Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydropower-dams-and-water/index.md): A dam's output is set by how much water reaches its reservoir, so a weak monsoon or a drought cuts generation and forces coal or gas to… - [AC transmission and Aluminium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-aluminium/index.md): Overhead AC lines are strung with aluminium conductors around a steel core, so line building is a large, steady aluminium market; in India… - [Copper and Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-distribution-grids-mini-grids-and-interconnectors/index.md): Distribution networks are a large copper outlet: copper goes into underground cables, substations, transformer windings and earthing… - [Aluminium and Underground, submarine and superconducting cables](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-underground-submarine-and-superconducting-cables/index.md): Buried and subsea power cables need a metal conductor, and aluminium competes with copper for it: aluminium needs a larger cross-section… - [Crude oil and Tankers, barges and fuel trucks](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-tankers-barges-and-fuel-trucks/index.md): About three-quarters of the world's oil travels by sea, so tanker capacity, chokepoints and sanctions decide how much a barrel costs on… - [LNG chain and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lng-chain-and-natural-gas/index.md): LNG is how natural gas crosses oceans, and it now links regional gas markets that pipelines kept apart. Contract formulas tied to oil or… - [Ammonia and Hydrogen and hydrogen carriers](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-hydrogen-and-hydrogen-carriers/index.md): Ammonia is the leading way to ship hydrogen over long distances because it liquefies easily and already has ships and ports, but making it… - [Coal transport and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/coal-transport-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Thermal coal is heavy and cheap per tonne, so moving it can cost nearly as much as the coal itself: Coal India said in 2020 that rail… - [Lithium iron phosphate batteries and Phosphate rock](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries-and-phosphate-rock/index.md): Every LFP cathode needs purified phosphoric acid made from phosphate rock, so the rise of LFP has created a new, high-purity demand that… - [Graphite and Lithium iron phosphate batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/graphite-and-lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries/index.md): LFP cells, like other lithium-ion cells, store their lithium in a graphite anode, and with LFP at over 55% of EV batteries in 2025 it is… - [Nickel and Nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-and-nickel-rich-lithium-ion-batteries/index.md): Nickel-rich cathodes are nickel's fastest-growing market, and the nickel feeding them increasingly comes from Indonesian laterites… - [Soda ash and Sodium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/soda-ash-and-sodium-ion-batteries/index.md): Sodium-ion batteries take their sodium mainly from sodium carbonate, the chemical sold as soda ash, which is cheap and plentiful, so they… - [Lead and Lead-acid batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lead-and-lead-acid-batteries/index.md): Lead-acid batteries take about 85% of the world's refined lead, and the metal is recovered from scrap batteries so efficiently that most… - [Crude oil and Fuel stocks and strategic reserves](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-fuel-stocks-and-strategic-reserves/index.md): Strategic reserves are crude held back for emergencies, so they are worth what crude is worth and matter most when supply breaks. IEA… - [Steam turbines and thermal power plants and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steam-turbines-and-thermal-power-plants-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Thermal coal is the fuel and steam turbine plants are the machines that turn it into most of India's electricity: at CEA's normative heat… - [Gas turbines and combined cycle and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/gas-turbines-and-combined-cycle-and-natural-gas/index.md): Gas turbines are the main way gas becomes electricity, so their fleet size and running hours set the power sector's gas burn. Where gas is… - [Copper and Electric motors and drives](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-electric-motors-and-drives/index.md): Motors are one of copper's biggest uses, because their stator windings, and in some designs the rotor, are copper; tighter efficiency… - [Electric motors and drives and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-motors-and-drives-and-steel/index.md): Every electric motor's magnetic core is a stack of thin non-oriented electrical steel, and the quality of that steel sets a large part of… - [Copper and Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-transformers-and-power-electronics/index.md): Large power transformers are wound with copper, and since 2019 a surge in grid and generation demand has pushed US power transformer… - [Copper and Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-heat-pumps-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration/index.md): Air conditioners, heat pumps and fridges move heat through copper tubes and coils and run on copper-wound compressor motors, so copper was… - [Crude oil and Refining and reforming](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-refining-and-reforming/index.md): Refineries are crude's customer and crude is their largest cost, so product prices track crude closely and refiners live on the gap… - [Hydrogen and Refining and reforming](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrogen-and-refining-and-reforming/index.md): Refineries are among the largest hydrogen users, needing it to remove sulphur from fuels and upgrade heavy oil; they make some in their… - [Combustion road vehicles and Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/combustion-road-vehicles-and-crude-oil/index.md): Road engines burn close to half of the world's oil, so the size and fuel efficiency of the combustion fleet is the largest single driver… - [Electric and hybrid vehicles and Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-and-hybrid-vehicles-and-nickel/index.md): Long-range electric cars mostly run on nickel-rich NMC and NCA batteries, but iron phosphate (LFP) cells made up over 55% of EV batteries… - [Copper and Electric and hybrid vehicles](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-electric-and-hybrid-vehicles/index.md): A battery electric car was estimated to use about 83 kg of copper against about 23 kg in a petrol or diesel car (ICA estimate, 2017), in… - [Aviation propulsion and Titanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aviation-propulsion-and-titanium/index.md): Jet engines and airframes are the main market for titanium metal, using it for fan and compressor parts and highly loaded structures, and… - [Cement and Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cement-and-energy-intensive-industry/index.md): Cement is one of the core energy-intensive industries: its kilns used about 3.6 GJ of heat per tonne of clinker and its mills about 96 kWh… - [Aluminium and Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-energy-intensive-industry/index.md): Primary aluminium is one of the most electricity-intensive industrial products, at about 15 MWh per tonne with power typically about 40%… - [Chlorine and Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-energy-intensive-industry/index.md): Chlorine is made by electrolysis of brine, which puts chlor-alkali among the energy-intensive industries: electricity was about 60% of its… - [Water and Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/water-and-water-and-sanitation/index.md): Raw water is the resource that water and sanitation utilities abstract, treat, deliver and then collect back as sewage. In India the… - [Electric motors and drives and Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-motors-and-drives-and-water-and-sanitation/index.md): Water and sewage services are mostly a matter of moving water uphill and through pipes, so motor-driven pumps and blowers use most of a… - [Construction and infrastructure and Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-water-and-sanitation/index.md): Water and sanitation is one of the most construction-heavy services: dams, canals, pipelines and treatment plants are civil works, so… - [Chlorine and Water and sanitation](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-water-and-sanitation/index.md): Chlorine is the standard disinfectant for piped water because it leaves a residual that keeps protecting water in the pipes, so water… - [Water and sanitation and Water treatment chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/water-and-sanitation-and-water-treatment-chemicals/index.md): Surface water for piped supply is coagulated, usually with alum or polyaluminium chloride, and chlorinated to leave a residual at the tap… - [Metal products and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/metal-products-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Scrap closes the metal loop: mills and foundries melt it, and worn-out metal products become the next supply. India uses about 41 Mt of… - [Machinery and equipment and Metal products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/machinery-and-equipment-and-metal-products/index.md): Machines are built from castings, forgings and fabricated parts, about ₹8 of every ₹100 of machinery output, and the foundries and forge… - [Electrical equipment and Metal products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electrical-equipment-and-metal-products/index.md): Transformers, switchgear and motors are largely shaped metal: tanks, cores, enclosures, frames and windings. Metal inputs are the biggest… - [Building materials and Energy-intensive industry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-energy-intensive-industry/index.md): Cement and glass are energy-intensive industries in their own right: kiln and furnace heat is most of their energy use and energy is about… - [Building materials and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-natural-gas/index.md): Gas is the kiln and furnace fuel for tiles and glass, over 30% of ceramic input costs at Morbi in 2022, so a gas shock, such as the 2026… - [Natural rubber and Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-rubber-and-plastic-and-rubber-products/index.md): Tyres and other vehicle parts take about 70% of India's natural rubber, but India grows only about 62% of what it uses, mostly in Kerala… - [Paper and packaging and Plastic and rubber products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paper-and-packaging-and-plastic-and-rubber-products/index.md): Paper and plastic compete for the same packaging jobs and are also combined in laminates and cartons; India's 2022 ban on many single-use… - [Plastic and rubber products and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/plastic-and-rubber-products-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Plastic packaging and tyres end up as waste that recyclers turn back into resin, crumb rubber and fuel, and India's extended producer… - [Timber and Wood products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/timber-and-wood-products/index.md): Timber is the raw material of the wood products industry: logs become sawnwood, veneer, plywood and panels. In India the chain runs mostly… - [Paper and packaging and Wood products](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paper-and-packaging-and-wood-products/index.md): Indian paper mills and plywood and MDF makers draw on the same farm-grown eucalyptus and other plantation wood, so they compete for logs… - [Copper and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Copper can be recycled repeatedly without losing quality, so scrap supplies about a third of world copper use; for recyclers copper is the… - [Paper and packaging and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paper-and-packaging-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Used cartons and paper collected by the waste trade are the main fibre for Indian paper mills, which make about three quarters of their… - [Computers and electronics and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/computers-and-electronics-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Discarded phones, computers and screens are the feedstock for e-waste recyclers, and India's extended producer responsibility rules make… - [Biogas and biomethane and Waste and recycling](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biogas-and-biomethane-and-waste-and-recycling/index.md): Wet organic waste, from city food waste to cattle dung and sugar-mill press mud, is the raw material for compressed biogas, so India's… - [Textiles and leather and Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/textiles-and-leather-and-water/index.md): Textiles and leather use water at every stage, from irrigating cotton to dye baths and hide soaking, and return it loaded with dyes, salts… - [Crude oil and Textiles and leather](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-textiles-and-leather/index.md): Polyester, made from oil-derived PTA and MEG, was 59% of the world's fibre in 2024, so crude prices feed straight into the cost of most… - [Natural gas and Textiles and leather](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-textiles-and-leather/index.md): Textile dyeing, printing and finishing need large amounts of low-temperature heat, and in clusters such as Surat much of it comes from… - [Caustic soda and Paper and packaging](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/caustic-soda-and-paper-and-packaging/index.md): Caustic soda is one of the two active chemicals in kraft pulping liquor; mills recover most of it but must buy make-up, about 35 kg per… - [Copper and Electrical equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-electrical-equipment/index.md): Copper is the main conductor in cables, motor and transformer windings and switchgear busbars, and it carries the largest weight in… - [Electrical equipment and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electrical-equipment-and-steel/index.md): Electrical equipment needs ordinary steel for tanks, frames and transmission towers, but its critical link is grain-oriented electrical… - [Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors and Electrical equipment](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/distribution-grids-mini-grids-and-interconnectors-and-electrical-equipment/index.md): Distribution grids are among the largest buyers of transformers, switchgear, cables and meters, so grid spending programmes such as… - [Electrical equipment and PVC](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electrical-equipment-and-pvc/index.md): PVC is the standard insulation and sheath for low-voltage wire and cable because it is cheap, tough and flame-retardant, so cable makers… - [Electrical equipment and Epoxy resins](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electrical-equipment-and-epoxy-resins/index.md): Epoxy is the solid insulation of the grid: transformer windings, switchgear parts and insulators are cast in it, so a build-out of… - [Electrical equipment and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electrical-equipment-and-semiconductors/index.md): Modern electrical equipment is controlled by chips: power semiconductors switch the current in inverters, drives and chargers, and… - [Food and beverage processing and Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-palm-oil/index.md): Palm oil is the largest single vegetable oil, about 35% of world demand, and is semi-solid at room temperature, so food makers use it for… - [Food and beverage processing and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-sugar/index.md): Institutional buyers, mainly food and drink makers, took about 60 to 65% of India's sugar in 2023 to 2024, so their input cost is set by a… - [Flavours and fragrances and Food and beverage processing](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/flavours-and-fragrances-and-food-and-beverage-processing/index.md): Packaged food and drink makers buy their taste from a few flavour houses, which pass input costs on in their prices; India sits upstream… - [Food and beverage processing and Food and feed additives](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-food-and-feed-additives/index.md): Packaged foods rely on small doses of emulsifiers, preservatives, colours and flour treatments for texture, shelf life and consistency… - [Food and beverage processing and Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-heat-pumps-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration/index.md): Refrigeration is what lets perishable food be stored, processed and shipped, so the food industry is a major user of compressor cooling… - [Fluorochemicals and refrigerants and Food and beverage processing](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/fluorochemicals-and-refrigerants-and-food-and-beverage-processing/index.md): Food's cold chain, from supermarket chillers to refrigerated trucks, runs largely on HFC refrigerants such as R404A, while India's big… - [Food and beverage processing and Wholesale and retail trade](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-wholesale-and-retail-trade/index.md): Distribution is food processors' route to the consumer and one of their largest costs, about ₹13 of every ₹100 of output; kiranas still… - [Food and beverage processing and Hospitality and tourism](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/food-and-beverage-processing-and-hospitality-and-tourism/index.md): Processed food and drink are a major purchased input of hotels and restaurants, about ₹22 of every ₹100 of their output, and food service… - [Healthcare services and Pharmaceuticals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/healthcare-services-and-pharmaceuticals/index.md): Medicines took about a fifth of India's current health expenditure in 2022-23, and households still paid 43.4% of total health spending… - [Pharma starting materials and intermediates and Pharmaceuticals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/pharma-starting-materials-and-intermediates-and-pharmaceuticals/index.md): Key starting materials and intermediates are the chemical building blocks of every API, and India, a large generic drug maker, bought… - [Antibiotic intermediates (6-APA, 7-ACA) and Pharmaceuticals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/antibiotic-intermediates-6-apa-7-aca-and-pharmaceuticals/index.md): 6-APA and 7-ACA are the molecular cores from which penicillins such as amoxicillin and cephalosporins such as ceftriaxone are made, so… - [Methanol and Pharmaceuticals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/methanol-and-pharmaceuticals/index.md): Methanol is a crucial solvent for making and purifying drug intermediates and APIs, and India imports over 90% of the methanol it uses… - [Machinery and equipment and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/machinery-and-equipment-and-steel/index.md): Machinery relies heavily on steel, from tractor chassis to bearings and motor laminations, and took about 16% of the world's steel in… - [Machinery and equipment and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/machinery-and-equipment-and-semiconductors/index.md): Chipmaking depends on a few makers of fab tools, and those tools are now a target of export controls; in the other direction, machines… - [E-commerce and digital marketplaces and Household and personal care](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/e-commerce-and-digital-marketplaces-and-household-and-personal-care/index.md): Online marketplaces and quick-commerce apps have become a fast-growing route to market for soaps, shampoos, detergents and skin care in… - [Apparel and footwear and Textiles and leather](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/apparel-and-footwear-and-textiles-and-leather/index.md): Garments and shoes are cut and sewn from fabric and leather, so the textile mills are the apparel industry's main supplier: about ₹34 of… - [Finance: banking, insurance, markets and Real estate](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/finance-banking-insurance-markets-and-real-estate/index.md): Real estate runs on borrowed money and finance runs on property collateral: home loans were about a sixth of Indian bank credit in FY25… - [Construction and infrastructure and Public administration, defence and security](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-public-administration-defence-and-security/index.md): Government is construction's largest client: it plans, funds and approves most roads, railways, water networks and military works, so… - [Construction and infrastructure and Construction chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-construction-chemicals/index.md): Construction chemicals are a small dose with a large effect: admixtures added at well under 2% of cement weight decide how concrete flows… - [Building materials and Construction and infrastructure](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/building-materials-and-construction-and-infrastructure/index.md): Construction is the market for cement, concrete, bricks and glass, so building material makers live on the building cycle: housing takes… - [Construction and infrastructure and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-steel/index.md): Construction and infrastructure are India's biggest steel users, about 60% of finished steel in FY26, through rebar in concrete and… - [Construction and infrastructure and Crude oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-crude-oil/index.md): Road building runs on two crude oil products, bitumen for the surface and diesel for the machines, so crude price shocks raise highway… - [Construction and infrastructure and Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/construction-and-infrastructure-and-copper/index.md): Buildings are the largest single use of copper, through wiring, plumbing and cooling tube, so construction activity moves copper demand… - [Steel and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steel-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Steel makes up most of a car's body and chassis and the hulls of ships and bogies of trains, so vehicle makers are among the largest… - [Aluminium and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Transport is aluminium's largest market, about 28% of world use in 2025, and electric cars and faster trains raise the metal needed per… - [Nickel and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Vehicles use nickel in two very different ways: in nickel-rich NMC and NCA battery cathodes, and in stainless steels and superalloys for… - [Lithium and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Batteries take about 88% of the world's lithium and electric cars take most battery output, so EV sales now set lithium demand and its… - [Cobalt and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cobalt-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Electric vehicle batteries are now the largest use of cobalt, about 43% of demand in 2024, but makers have cut cobalt per kWh through LFP… - [Graphite and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/graphite-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Almost every electric vehicle battery uses a graphite anode, and graphite is the largest material in a lithium-ion cell by weight, while… - [Manganese and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/manganese-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Vehicles take manganese two ways: inside the steel of every car, ship and rail wagon, as steel takes about 90% of manganese, and in a… - [Copper and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): A battery electric car used roughly three to four times the copper of a petrol car in 2017 estimates, in motor windings, battery foils… - [Battery cathode materials and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/battery-cathode-materials-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): The cathode is the most expensive part of an EV battery cell and sets its range and cost, so carmakers' choice between nickel-rich NMC and… - [Battery anode materials and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/battery-anode-materials-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Every lithium-ion cell in an electric vehicle needs an anode, almost always graphite, the largest active material in the cell by mass.… - [Battery electrolytes and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/battery-electrolytes-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): The liquid electrolyte, a lithium salt (usually LiPF6) dissolved in carbonate solvents, lets lithium ions move between the electrodes of… - [Lithium iron phosphate batteries and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Lithium iron phosphate has become the main battery chemistry for electric vehicles, over 55% of EV batteries deployed in 2025, because it… - [Nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-rich-lithium-ion-batteries-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Nickel-rich cells are the battery of choice for long-range and premium electric cars, and almost 80% of EV batteries outside China still… - [Polypropylene and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/polypropylene-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Polypropylene is the plastic used most in cars, moulded into bumpers, dashboards, door panels and trims because it is light, cheap and… - [Electric motors and drives and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electric-motors-and-drives-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Electric vehicles move on traction motors, and most of those motors use rare-earth permanent magnets made almost entirely in China, so the… - [Rare earths and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rare-earths-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Most electric cars, and many ships, aircraft and weapons, run on neodymium magnets whose heavy rare earths China separates almost alone… - [Paints and coatings and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paints-and-coatings-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Every vehicle body passes through a multi-layer paint shop and every hull needs anti-fouling paint, so coating makers sell into vehicle… - [Aviation propulsion and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aviation-propulsion-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Aircraft builders cannot deliver without engines, and narrowbody engines come from very few suppliers, mainly CFM and Pratt & Whitney, so… - [Ship propulsion and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ship-propulsion-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Engines and propulsion are the core bought-in system of every ship a yard builds, so fuel rules decide what shipbuilders install; with 91%… - [Rail traction and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rail-traction-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Rail traction is what rolling-stock builders sell: locomotives and trainsets with their motors, transformers and converters. In India… - [Aerospace and defence and Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-vehicles-ships-rail-aircraft/index.md): Aircraft, warships and armoured vehicles sit in both industries, so the two share factories, suppliers and bottlenecks: aerospace and… - [Computers and electronics and Silicon](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/computers-and-electronics-and-silicon/index.md): Every chip in a phone, PC or server is built on a silicon wafer, but chips use only a sliver of world silicon output: most silicon metal… - [Computers and electronics and Gold](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/computers-and-electronics-and-gold/index.md): Electronics uses only about 5% of the gold bought each year, but chips, contacts and boards rely on it for corrosion-free connections, and… - [Computers and electronics and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/computers-and-electronics-and-semiconductors/index.md): Chips are the largest single input to phones, PCs and servers, and those devices in turn buy most of the world's chips. A swing in chip… - [Data centres and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-semiconductors/index.md): Data centres now bring in about nine-tenths of the leading AI chip designer's revenue and over half of the leading foundry's, and each new… - [Data centres and cloud and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-cloud-and-semiconductors/index.md): Data-centre spending on AI is now the main engine of the chip industry: accelerators, server processors and high-bandwidth memory make up… - [Fluoropolymers (PTFE, PVDF) and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/fluoropolymers-ptfe-pvdf-and-semiconductors/index.md): Fabs carry their ultra-pure acids and solvents in PFA and PTFE tubing, valves, tanks and filters because nothing else resists them without… - [Semiconductors and Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/semiconductors-and-transformers-and-power-electronics/index.md): Power chips, silicon IGBTs and MOSFETs and newer silicon carbide devices, are the switches inside every inverter, drive and charger, so… - [Hydrofluoric acid and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrofluoric-acid-and-semiconductors/index.md): Ultra-high-purity hydrofluoric acid is used to clean wafers and etch oxide layers in every fab, and its supply runs from mostly Chinese… - [Helium and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/helium-and-semiconductors/index.md): Chip fabs are the largest users of helium, about 20 to 25% of world use, for wafer cooling and lithography, and about a third of supply… - [Photoresists and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/photoresists-and-semiconductors/index.md): Every lithography step in a fab prints its pattern into a photoresist, and the leading-edge grades, above all EUV resists, come almost… - [Electronic specialty gases and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/electronic-specialty-gases-and-semiconductors/index.md): Chipmaking runs on ultra-pure gases for etching, deposition, doping, chamber cleaning and lithography lasers, a market forecast at about… - [Semiconductors and Ultra-pure wet chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/semiconductors-and-ultra-pure-wet-chemicals/index.md): Fabs clean, etch and strip wafers many times over with ultra-pure acids, peroxide and solvents, so these chemicals are made close to the… - [CMP slurries and pads and Semiconductors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cmp-slurries-and-pads-and-semiconductors/index.md): Chipmakers polish wafers flat after many layers using slurries and pads that are consumed as they work, so CMP consumables grow with wafer… - [Semiconductors and Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/semiconductors-and-water/index.md): Chip fabs rinse wafers repeatedly with ultrapure water, so a large fab draws millions of gallons a day and cannot run if supply fails.… - [Semiconductors and Tantalum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/semiconductors-and-tantalum/index.md): Chipmakers sputter tantalum into thin conductive and barrier layers, and the metal comes largely from conflict-affected central Africa, so… - [Crude oil and Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-transport-and-logistics/index.md): Fuel is the largest single cost in moving goods, 42.1% of road freight expenses in India and 31.4% of airline costs forecast for 2026, so… - [Natural gas and Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-transport-and-logistics/index.md): Gas enters transport as compressed gas for cars, autos, buses and light trucks and as LNG for heavy trucks and ships; India has built a… - [Renewable diesel and SAF and Transport and logistics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/renewable-diesel-and-saf-and-transport-and-logistics/index.md): Renewable diesel (HVO) and sustainable aviation fuel are drop-in fuels that let trucks and aircraft cut emissions without new engines, but… - [Copper and Data centres and cloud](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-data-centres-and-cloud/index.md): A data centre uses roughly 27 tonnes of copper per megawatt in its power, cooling and server systems, and more again in the grid that… - [Data centres and cloud and Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-cloud-and-natural-gas/index.md): Gas is the largest single source of power for US data centres and the IEA expects it to supply the biggest share of their added demand to… - [AC transmission and Data centres and cloud](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ac-transmission-and-data-centres-and-cloud/index.md): Large data centre campuses now ask for 100 MW to 1 GW each and must be connected to the high-voltage AC grid, so the pace of transmission… - [Data centres and cloud and Solar photovoltaics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-cloud-and-solar-photovoltaics/index.md): Cloud and AI firms are the largest corporate buyers of renewable power, and solar is a main part of what they contract, but solar output… - [Data centres and cloud and Telecommunications](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-cloud-and-telecommunications/index.md): Data centres are only useful when they are connected, so they cluster where fibre and subsea cables land, and cloud and content firms now… - [Data centres and cloud and Software and IT services](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/data-centres-and-cloud-and-software-and-it-services/index.md): Cloud platforms and software are two layers of the same stack: software firms rent compute from cloud providers, and cloud providers buy… - [Software and IT services and Telecommunications](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/software-and-it-services-and-telecommunications/index.md): Modern telecom networks run on software, from billing and network management to virtualised cores and radio, so operators are large buyers… - [Copper and Telecommunications](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-telecommunications/index.md): Telecom networks were built on copper lines, but optical fibre now replaces copper in access and long-haul networks, so operators are… - [Gallium and Telecommunications](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/gallium-and-telecommunications/index.md): Radio equipment for mobile networks relies on gallium compounds, gallium nitride in base station amplifiers and gallium arsenide in… - [Aerospace and defence and Titanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-titanium/index.md): Titanium is above all an aerospace metal: most titanium metal used in the US goes into aerospace, and it is about 15% of a Boeing 787's… - [Aerospace and defence and Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-nickel/index.md): Nickel-base superalloys make up much of a jet engine's hot section, over half of engine weight with other superalloys, but aerospace takes… - [Aerospace and defence and Cobalt](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-cobalt/index.md): Cobalt is a small but essential ingredient of jet engine superalloys: aerospace used about 11.5 kt in 2025, a fraction of battery demand… - [Aerospace and defence and Rhenium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-rhenium/index.md): Rhenium is the few-per-cent addition that lets single-crystal turbine blades survive the hottest part of a jet engine; superalloys take… - [Aerospace and defence and Aluminium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-aluminium/index.md): Aluminium alloys still make up much of an aircraft, about half of a Boeing 777's structure, but carbon composites are about half of the… - [Aerospace and defence and Aviation propulsion](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-aviation-propulsion/index.md): No aircraft, civil or military, can be delivered without its engines, and engine output is now the tightest constraint on the industry… - [Aerospace and defence and Public administration, defence and security](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aerospace-and-defence-and-public-administration-defence-and-security/index.md): Governments are the defence industry's customer, regulator and often owner: world military spending reached about USD 2.9 trillion in… - [Healthcare services and Medical devices](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/healthcare-services-and-medical-devices/index.md): Hospitals and diagnostic centres are the buyers of medical devices, and about 70% of India's device market is met by imports (2024… - [Finance: banking, insurance, markets and Gold](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/finance-banking-insurance-markets-and-gold/index.md): Gold is a financial asset as much as a metal: central banks hold it as reserves, funds hold it for clients, and Indian lenders take it as… - [Finance: banking, insurance, markets and Software and IT services](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/finance-banking-insurance-markets-and-software-and-it-services/index.md): Banks, insurers and payment systems run on software, and they are in turn the largest client group of India's IT firms: banking, financial… - [AI and digital platforms and Distribution grids, mini-grids and interconnectors](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ai-and-digital-platforms-and-distribution-grids-mini-grids-and-interconnectors/index.md): AI adds large, concentrated electric loads, from chip fabs to data centres, that local networks must connect and supply without… - [AI and digital platforms and Data centres](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ai-and-digital-platforms-and-data-centres/index.md): AI models are trained and served in data centres, so AI spending turns directly into electricity demand: data centre use grew 17% in 2025… - [AI and digital platforms and Data centres and cloud](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ai-and-digital-platforms-and-data-centres-and-cloud/index.md): AI models are trained and served in data centres, so AI spending turns directly into data-centre construction and power demand: five large… - [AI and digital platforms and Software and IT services](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ai-and-digital-platforms-and-software-and-it-services/index.md): AI platforms buy software and engineering from IT firms, and IT firms resell and integrate AI for clients, but the same models can… - [Crude oil and Public administration, defence and security](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-public-administration-defence-and-security/index.md): Governments both burn oil, above all in their armed forces, and live off it: India's petroleum sector paid about ₹7.58 lakh crore to… - [Aluminium and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Most aluminium in India and China is smelted with coal-fired captive power, so coal sets much of its cost and most of its carbon… - [Coking coal and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/coking-coal-and-steel/index.md): Blast furnace steel needs roughly 800 kg of coal per tonne, most of it as coke, so coking coal demand rises and falls with blast furnace… - [Phosphate rock and Potash](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/phosphate-rock-and-potash/index.md): Phosphate and potash are the P and K of fertiliser: almost all of both goes to farms, neither has a substitute as a plant nutrient, and… - [Phosphate rock and Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/phosphate-rock-and-sulphuric-acid/index.md): Sulphuric acid is the reagent that unlocks phosphate rock: it dissolves the rock into phosphoric acid and leaves four to five tonnes of… - [Ammonia and Phosphate rock](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-phosphate-rock/index.md): DAP, a leading phosphate fertiliser, is phosphoric acid from phosphate rock neutralised with ammonia, about 0.22 t of ammonia per tonne… - [Natural gas and Nitrogen (ammonia)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-nitrogen-ammonia/index.md): About 72% of the world's ammonia is made from natural gas, which supplies both the hydrogen and the energy, so gas is most of the cost and… - [Maize and Nitrogen (ammonia)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-nitrogen-ammonia/index.md): Maize is one of the most nitrogen-hungry crops, and fertiliser is the largest direct cost of growing it, so grain prices and nitrogen… - [Natural gas and Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-sulfur/index.md): Most of the world's sulphur is not mined but removed from sour natural gas and crude oil, so its supply is set by gas processing and… - [Copper and Sulfur](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-sulfur/index.md): Copper smelters make sulphuric acid as a by-product and copper leaching consumes it, so copper is both a rival to sulphur burning and one… - [Aluminium and Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-copper/index.md): Aluminium is the main substitute for copper in power cable, radiators, cooling tube and some electrical equipment, so the copper to… - [Copper and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-zinc/index.md): Copper and zinc are alloyed together as brass, often mined from the same polymetallic ores, and traded on the same exchanges, giving them… - [Lead and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lead-and-zinc/index.md): Lead and zinc come out of the same ores and often the same smelters, so their mine supply is linked, but their demand is not: zinc… - [Steel and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steel-and-zinc/index.md): Galvanising, coating steel with zinc so the zinc corrodes first, takes about 60% of the world's zinc, so zinc demand follows output of… - [Lead and Silver](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lead-and-silver/index.md): Lead-zinc mines are the largest single source of the world's silver, and the silver is recovered in lead smelting and refining, so silver… - [Nickel and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-and-steel/index.md): Stainless steel takes about two-thirds of the world's nickel, so stainless output in China and Indonesia sets nickel demand, while carbon… - [Copper and Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-nickel/index.md): Copper and nickel share a price cycle and are mined together from magmatic sulphide ores such as Norilsk, but Indonesia's laterite boom… - [Steel and Tin](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steel-and-tin/index.md): Tinplate, thin steel coated with a few grams of tin per square metre, ties the two metals in food and drink cans: it is a sizeable use for… - [Iron ore and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/iron-ore-and-steel/index.md): Iron ore exists almost only to make steel: a blast furnace tonne needs about 1.4 tonnes of ore, scrap-based arc furnaces need very little… - [Natural gas and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/natural-gas-and-steel/index.md): Natural gas can replace coke as the agent that strips oxygen from iron ore, in direct reduced iron (DRI) plants that feed electric… - [Gold and Silver](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/gold-and-silver/index.md): Silver trades as the cheaper, more industrial cousin of gold: their prices share the same monetary drivers, part of the world's silver is… - [Copper and Gold](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-gold/index.md): Gold is a valuable by-product of porphyry copper mines and is recovered at copper smelters; at Grasberg, gold, silver and other credits… - [Copper and Silver](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-silver/index.md): Most silver is a by-product of base-metal and gold mining, with copper mines such as KGHM's among the largest sources, and both metals… - [Graphite and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/graphite-and-steel/index.md): Electric arc furnaces melt scrap with synthetic graphite electrodes that burn away at about 1.7 kg per tonne of steel, so electrode demand… - [Cement and Sand & gravel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cement-and-sand-and-gravel/index.md): Concrete is mostly aggregate held together by cement, roughly 5 to 6 tonnes of aggregate for every tonne of cement, so the two are… - [Cement and Gypsum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cement-and-gypsum/index.md): Cement contains about 4 to 5% gypsum, ground in with clinker to control setting, and USGS finds no practical substitute for it; India… - [Maize and Wheat](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-wheat/index.md): Maize and wheat compete in animal feed, so when wheat becomes cheap relative to maize it is fed to livestock; that switching, plus shared… - [Maize and Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-soybeans/index.md): Maize and soybeans compete for the same farmland, are grown in rotation, and are fed together as energy and protein, so their prices and… - [Maize and Urea](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-urea/index.md): Maize is one of the three cereals that together take about half of the world's nitrogen fertiliser, and urea is the main form in which… - [Urea and Wheat](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/urea-and-wheat/index.md): Wheat is one of the largest users of urea nitrogen, taking about a fifth of India's nitrogen fertiliser. In India a frozen urea price and… - [Rice and Water](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rice-and-water/index.md): Paddy rice is one of the thirstiest field crops, using about 30% of the world's irrigation water; in Punjab it has driven groundwater… - [Palm oil and Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/palm-oil-and-soybeans/index.md): Palm oil and soybean oil are the two largest edible oils and close substitutes, so palm supply and prices feed into the value of every… - [Palm oil and Sunflower](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/palm-oil-and-sunflower/index.md): Sunflower oil from the Black Sea and palm oil from Southeast Asia compete for India's frying and cooking oil demand, so a supply shock in… - [Crude oil and Palm oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-palm-oil/index.md): Indonesia blends palm biodiesel into diesel under a mandate funded by export levies, which moved from B40 to B50 from July 2026, so the… - [Crude oil and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-sugar/index.md): Brazil's cane mills choose each season how much cane to turn into sugar or ethanol, and ethanol competes with petrol, so oil and petrol… - [Maize and Sugar](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-sugar/index.md): Maize competes with sugar twice: as high-fructose syrup in US food and drinks, a use now in long decline, and as an ethanol feedstock that… - [Cotton and Soybeans](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cotton-and-soybeans/index.md): Cotton and soybeans compete for the same fields in the US and in central India, but in Brazil most cotton is sown straight after the… - [Crude oil and Natural rubber](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/crude-oil-and-natural-rubber/index.md): Synthetic rubber, made from oil and gas derived monomers, supplies just over half of the world's rubber, so crude oil sets the price of… - [Maize and Poultry](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/maize-and-poultry/index.md): Feed is the largest cost of raising chickens and maize is most of the feed, so maize prices set poultry margins; in India poultry takes… - [Phosphoric acid and Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/phosphoric-acid-and-sulphuric-acid/index.md): Wet-process phosphoric acid is made by dissolving phosphate rock in sulphuric acid, so large phosphoric acid plants usually run their own… - [Hydrofluoric acid and Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrofluoric-acid-and-sulphuric-acid/index.md): Hydrogen fluoride is made by heating acid-grade fluorspar with sulphuric acid, about 2.45 t of acid per tonne of HF in theory, leaving… - [Hydrochloric acid and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hydrochloric-acid-and-steel/index.md): Steel mills use hydrochloric acid to pickle hot-rolled strip before cold rolling and coating, making steel one of the main outlets for an… - [DAP and MAP and Phosphoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/dap-and-map-and-phosphoric-acid/index.md): DAP and MAP are phosphoric acid neutralised with ammonia, so acid is their main input and price driver. For India the choice is between… - [Chlorine and Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-titanium-dioxide/index.md): The chloride route to titanium dioxide chlorinates titanium feed into titanium tetrachloride and then burns it back to pigment, recovering… - [Paints and coatings and Titanium dioxide](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paints-and-coatings-and-titanium-dioxide/index.md): Titanium dioxide is the white pigment that gives paint its hiding power, and paint took about 56% of all TiO2 in 2020. It can be up to 40%… - [Oxygen and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/oxygen-and-steel/index.md): Steelmaking is one of the largest industrial uses of oxygen: each tonne of converter steel needs about 55 to 60 cubic metres of… - [Ammonia and Urea](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-urea/index.md): Urea is the main way ammonia's nitrogen reaches farms: about 55% of world ammonia demand goes into urea, usually made at the same site… - [Ammonium nitrate and Urea](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonium-nitrate-and-urea/index.md): Ammonium nitrate and urea are rival ways to deliver ammonia's nitrogen to crops: urea is more concentrated and often cheaper per unit of… - [Ammonia and DAP and MAP](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ammonia-and-dap-and-map/index.md): Ammonia supplies all the nitrogen in DAP and MAP, so phosphate fertiliser costs carry an ammonia price on top of phosphoric acid. India… - [Ethylene and Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-polyethylene-ldpe-lldpe/index.md): Polyethylene is the main use of ethylene, taking more than 60% of it across all grades, so cracker earnings rise and fall with… - [Polypropylene and Propylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/polypropylene-and-propylene/index.md): About two-thirds of the world's propylene is made into polypropylene, so PP margins are a spread over propylene, and the route that… - [Benzene and Styrene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/benzene-and-styrene/index.md): Styrene is benzene's largest outlet: more than half of world benzene goes into ethylbenzene, almost all of which becomes styrene. China's… - [Benzene and Phenol and acetone](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/benzene-and-phenol-and-acetone/index.md): Phenol and acetone are made from benzene and propylene through cumene, and the two products always come out together in a fixed ratio.… - [Ethylene and Methanol](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-methanol/index.md): In China, methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants turn about 2.6 to 3 t of methanol into a tonne of ethylene and propylene, so methanol competes… - [Bioethanol and MTBE](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bioethanol-and-mtbe/index.md): Ethanol and MTBE compete for the same job in petrol: adding octane and oxygen. The US switched from MTBE to ethanol in 2006 after… - [Monoethylene glycol and Purified terephthalic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/monoethylene-glycol-and-purified-terephthalic-acid/index.md): MEG and PTA are the two halves of every polyester and PET molecule, bought together by the same plants in a fixed ratio. Both chains are… - [Propylene oxide and Styrene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/propylene-oxide-and-styrene/index.md): The PO/SM process makes about 2.3 tonnes of styrene with every tonne of propylene oxide, so a weak styrene market can close propylene… - [Polyester fibre and Purified terephthalic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/polyester-fibre-and-purified-terephthalic-acid/index.md): PTA is the larger of the two building blocks of polyester, so polyester yarn and fibre makers live on a thin spread over PTA and MEG; in… - [PET resin and Purified terephthalic acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/pet-resin-and-purified-terephthalic-acid/index.md): PTA is one of PET's two building blocks, joined with MEG and then solid-stated into bottle resin, so PET bottles are a direct, steady… - [Caprolactam and Nylon (PA6, PA66)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/caprolactam-and-nylon-pa6-pa66/index.md): Caprolactam is the monomer of nylon 6, so the two form one chain in which nylon 6 is priced as caprolactam plus a margin. Nylon 66 is made… - [Bisphenol A and Polycarbonate](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bisphenol-a-and-polycarbonate/index.md): Polycarbonate is the largest use of bisphenol A, nearly two-thirds of world demand in 2020, so polycarbonate demand and new polycarbonate… - [Bisphenol A and Epoxy resins](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/bisphenol-a-and-epoxy-resins/index.md): Epoxy resin is the second largest outlet for bisphenol A after polycarbonate: standard liquid epoxy is BPA reacted with epichlorohydrin, a… - [Linear alkylbenzene and Surfactants](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/linear-alkylbenzene-and-surfactants/index.md): Linear alkylbenzene exists almost only to be sulphonated into LAS, one of the largest surfactants, so LAB demand is laundry detergent… - [Ethylene and PVC](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-pvc/index.md): Outside China, PVC is built on ethylene: ethylene and chlorine make ethylene dichloride, which is cracked to vinyl chloride and… - [Chlorine and Polyurethanes (MDI, TDI, polyols)](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-polyurethanes-mdi-tdi-polyols/index.md): MDI and TDI, the isocyanate half of polyurethanes, are made with phosgene from chlorine and carbon monoxide. The chlorine does not stay in… - [Plasticisers and PVC](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/plasticisers-and-pvc/index.md): Plasticisers exist mainly to make PVC flexible: over 90% of those used in Europe go into flexible PVC for cables, flooring and film, so… - [Biodiesel (FAME) and Renewable diesel and SAF](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biodiesel-fame-and-renewable-diesel-and-saf/index.md): FAME biodiesel and hydrotreated renewable diesel and SAF are two routes for the same fats and oils. Renewable diesel is a better fuel and… - [Steel and Transformers and power electronics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steel-and-transformers-and-power-electronics/index.md): Most transformer cores are built from grain-oriented electrical steel (CRGO or GOES), a speciality grade made by few mills that is about a… - [Aluminium and Gallium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/aluminium-and-gallium/index.md): Most primary gallium is a by-product of alumina refining, and China, which refined about 62% of the world's alumina in 2025, makes 99% of… - [Antimony and Lead](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/antimony-and-lead/index.md): Antimony hardens lead for battery grids and ammunition, and much of it is recovered from scrap batteries at lead smelters, so the… - [Biodiesel (FAME) and Glycerine](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/biodiesel-fame-and-glycerine/index.md): Every tonne of FAME biodiesel releases about a tenth of a tonne of crude glycerine, so glycerine supply is set by biodiesel mandates… - [Butadiene and Ethylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/butadiene-and-ethylene/index.md): Butadiene is almost entirely a by-product of ethylene crackers, so its supply follows cracker runs and feed choice rather than tyre… - [Cadmium and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cadmium-and-zinc/index.md): Cadmium is recovered mainly as a by-product of zinc refining, so its primary supply follows zinc smelter output, not cadmium demand… - [Caustic soda and Chlorine](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/caustic-soda-and-chlorine/index.md): Chlorine and caustic soda come out of the same brine electrolysis in a fixed ratio of about 1.1 t of caustic per tonne of chlorine, so… - [Cement and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cement-and-steel/index.md): Granulated blast furnace slag from ironmaking is ground into GGBS and slag cement to replace clinker, and both materials depend on… - [Chlorine and Hydrogen](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/chlorine-and-hydrogen/index.md): Every tonne of chlorine made by brine electrolysis brings about 30 kg of hydrogen, so chlor-alkali plants are a small but steady source of… - [Cobalt and Copper](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cobalt-and-copper/index.md): About three quarters of cobalt is mined as a by-product of copper, mostly in DR Congo, so cobalt supply follows copper investment; Congo's… - [Cobalt and Nickel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cobalt-and-nickel/index.md): About a fifth of by-product cobalt comes from nickel ores, and Indonesia's high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) plants have made it the second… - [Coking coal and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/coking-coal-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Coking and thermal coal come from the same basins and sometimes the same mines, and the lower grades of metallurgical coal (semi-soft and… - [Copper and Molybdenum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-molybdenum/index.md): Outside China and the United States, almost all molybdenum is recovered from copper mines, so molybdenum supply follows copper mine plans… - [Copper and Selenium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-selenium/index.md): More than 80% of selenium comes from the anode slimes left by electrolytic copper refining, so selenium supply is fixed by copper refinery… - [Copper and Solar photovoltaics](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-solar-photovoltaics/index.md): Solar plants use about 2.5 to 7 tonnes of copper per MW, mostly in cabling and earthing, and record silver prices in early 2026 pushed… - [Copper and Tellurium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/copper-and-tellurium/index.md): More than 90% of tellurium has come from copper anode slimes, and about 70% of it now goes into cadmium telluride solar panels, so solar… - [Cotton and Viscose fibre](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/cotton-and-viscose-fibre/index.md): Viscose is cellulose from wood pulp regenerated into a fibre that handles much like cotton, so the two compete for the same spinning mills… - [Ethylene and Propylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/ethylene-and-propylene/index.md): Ethylene and propylene come out of the same steam cracker, in proportions fixed largely by the feed: ethane gives almost no propylene… - [Gallium and Germanium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/gallium-and-germanium/index.md): Gallium and germanium are small by-product metals for chips and optics whose supply is concentrated in China, which has put both under the… - [Germanium and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/germanium-and-zinc/index.md): Germanium is recovered from zinc refining residues and from coal ash, so outside China its supply rests on a few zinc operations such as… - [Hafnium and Zirconium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/hafnium-and-zirconium/index.md): Hafnium has no ore of its own: it is the impurity stripped out of zirconium to make nuclear-grade metal, so hafnium supply depends on how… - [Indium and Zinc](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/indium-and-zinc/index.md): Most indium is recovered from residues of zinc smelting, so its supply depends on how much zinc is smelted and where, not on indium's own… - [Jute and Polypropylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/jute-and-polypropylene/index.md): Woven polypropylene sacks are cheaper, less bulky and more resistant to moisture than jute sacks, and Indian cement and fertiliser makers… - [Lithium and Sodium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-and-sodium-ion-batteries/index.md): Sodium-ion cells do the same job as lithium-ion cells with sodium, which is about 1,000 times more abundant, so they cap how far lithium… - [Lithium iron phosphate batteries and Nickel-rich lithium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries-and-nickel-rich-lithium-ion-batteries/index.md): LFP and NMC are the two main lithium-ion chemistries and compete for every EV and storage project: LFP is cheaper and longer lived, NMC… - [Lithium iron phosphate batteries and Sodium-ion batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries-and-sodium-ion-batteries/index.md): Sodium-ion cells aim at the same low-cost uses as LFP, storage and small EVs, without needing lithium. Whether they win depends on the… - [Molybdenum and Rhenium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/molybdenum-and-rhenium/index.md): Rhenium is caught from the gases given off when molybdenite concentrate is roasted, so its supply is fixed by molybdenum and copper… - [Molybdenum and Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/molybdenum-and-steel/index.md): Steel is molybdenum's main market: about four-fifths of newly mined molybdenum (2022 data) goes into stainless, alloy and tool steels and… - [Nickel and Palladium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nickel-and-palladium/index.md): Much of the world's palladium is dug out with nickel and copper at Norilsk in Russia, so palladium supply depends on one nickel miner and… - [Niobium and Tantalum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/niobium-and-tantalum/index.md): Niobium and tantalum are chemical twins that occur together in nature, most famously in coltan, yet their markets differ: niobium comes… - [Nuclear fission reactors and Thorium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/nuclear-fission-reactors-and-thorium/index.md): Thorium cannot run a reactor on its own: it must first be bred into fissile uranium-233 inside a reactor started on uranium or plutonium.… - [Palladium and Platinum](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/palladium-and-platinum/index.md): Platinum and palladium are mined together in South Africa and Russia and do the same job in car exhaust catalysts, so carmakers swap… - [Paraxylene and Toluene](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/paraxylene-and-toluene/index.md): Toluene is the main swing feed for extra paraxylene: transalkylation and disproportionation units turn toluene, often mixed with heavier… - [Platinum and Rhodium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/platinum-and-rhodium/index.md): Rhodium is a small by-product of the same South African reefs that are mined for platinum and palladium, so its supply follows… - [Rare earths and Thorium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/rare-earths-and-thorium/index.md): Monazite, the mineral of India's beach sands, holds both rare earths and thorium, so every tonne of rare earths won from it brings… - [Solar photovoltaics and Thermal coal](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/solar-photovoltaics-and-thermal-coal/index.md): Solar and coal compete to supply the same grids: solar met 75% of world demand growth in 2025 while coal output fell, and in India cheap… - [Steel and Vanadium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/steel-and-vanadium/index.md): Steel is both vanadium's main customer and, in China, its main source: a few hundred grams per tonne strengthens rebar, and most Chinese… - [Tantalum and Tin](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/tantalum-and-tin/index.md): Tantalum and tin come out of the same ground and the same furnaces: tin smelter slags are a tantalum source, both are dug by hand in… - [Titanium and Zirconium](https://www.materialinsights.org/links/titanium-and-zirconium/index.md): Ilmenite, rutile and zircon are separated from the same heavy mineral sands, so titanium and zirconium supply come from the same mines and… ## Courses - [Understanding Commodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/index.md): Free course, 8 modules - [Understanding Chemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/index.md): Free course, 14 modules - [Understanding Energy](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/energy/index.md): Free course, 14 modules ## Optional - [Sitemap](https://www.materialinsights.org/sitemap.xml): every page on the site - [Explore the material world](https://www.materialinsights.org/explore/): interactive graph of links between elements and industries - [Guide to the Pyramid of Industries](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/guide/index.md)