The key conclusions of this perspective have shown that the supply of most materials contained within lithium-ion batteries will likely meet the demand for the near future. However, there are potential risks associated with the supply of cobalt. Furthermore, if there is rapid adoption of electric vehicles (incentivized by policy interventions including a carbon tax, higher fuel taxes, and more aggressive Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets), demand could outpace supply for some battery-grade materials (even for lithium in the very near term). The implications for research based on this perspective span many scales. First, continued research into cathode materials that alleviate some of these supply issues is of interest, particularly those that are cobalt free. Supply chain research and investigations in the policy domain may also help uncover ways to address materials availability in the future. Future investigations should provide a dynamic analysis with sufficient detail to map technological and operational changes to their impact on cost and to map performance to market value.