Cathode chemistry for a sustainable battery future: From conventional intercalation to next-generation architectures

The global transition to electrified transportation and grid-scale energy storage has placed lithium-ion battery cathode chemistry at the intersection of materials science, industrial scale-up, and geopolitical resource strategy. This review surveys cathode chemistries comprehensively — from the layered oxides (LiCoO 2 , lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA)), spinel (LiMn 2 O 4 ), and olivine (LiFePO 4 , LiMn x Fe[Formula: see text]PO 4 ) frameworks that define current commercial practice, through the emergent disordered rocksalt (DRX) and lithium–sulfur (Li–S) systems actively transitioning to pilot and early commercial production. A unifying thread is the sustainability imperative projected battery production of 5–10 TWh year[Formula: see text] by 2030 exposes critical supply-chain vulnerabilities in cobalt, nickel, and lithium that fundamentally constrain chemistry selection. The review addresses not only the electrochemical science of each cathode family but also practical manufacturability considerations — electrode processing, binder systems, tortuosity engineering, and the emerging dry-electrode paradigm. Brief consideration is given to other emerging chemistries, including lithium–selenium, metal-fluoride conversion cathodes, sodium-ion analogs, and organic electrode materials. The analysis concludes that a diversified portfolio anchored by lithium iron phosphate (LFP)/lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) for high-volume applications, high-nickel NMC for energy-dense automotive packs, DRX for a cobalt- and nickel-free high-energy pathway, and Li–S for weight-critical mobility segments offers the most resilient trajectory toward a sustainable battery economy.