How much energy you can pack into a battery is one limit on how big an EV can get – but meet the EVs ditching batteries altogether to attain mammoth proportions.

Concrete is perhaps the most commonly used building material in the world. With a bit of tweaking, it could help to power our homes too.

Lithium batteries are very difficult to recycle and require huge amounts of water and energy to produce. Are there viable alternatives?

A major barrier to electric vehicles is the distance they can travel on a single charge, so some manufacturers are shedding weight to squeeze more miles from their batteries.

Mining the lithium and other minerals we need for batteries is taking an increasing toll on the environment. There are alternative materials all around us though.

A new way of storing renewable energy is providing clean heat through the long Nordic nights.

Could a cutting-edge technology that harnesses one of the universe's fundamental forces help solve our energy storage challenge?

There's a global hunt for lithium to power our phones and electric vehicles. BBC Future explores the distinctive terrain where the stuff is mined.