UK minister slams Steam for explicit game promoting "non-consensual sexual contact" and sexual violence "The fact that a game like this is available on Steam is utterly unacceptable," says Women in Games CEO News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on April 9, 2025 CW: This story contains references to extreme sexual violence - reader discretion advised. UK technology secretary Peter Kyle has slammed Valve's PC storefront, Steam, for hosting a sexually explicit visual novel in which the protagonist engages in non-consensual sexual contact, sexual violence, rape, and incest. Zerat Games' No Mercy is clearly marked as containing "graphic sex and violence, mature language, nudity, and graphic [sex acts]," as well as incest, blackmail, and "unavoidable non-consensual sex," but is not protected by age-verification checks other than instructing players that by "clicking the View Page button, [they] affirm that [they] are at least eighteen years old." As a premium game, it also requires a card to purchase it with. "We expect every one of those [tech] companies to remove content as soon as they possibly can after being made aware of it," Kyle told LBC. "That’s what the law requires, it is what I require as a secretary of state, and it is certainly how we expect platforms who operate and have the privilege of access to British society, and British economy, to do." Kyle suggested that media and communications watchdog Ofcom should have the offending game removed, although Ofcom said it “can’t investigate individual complaints.” "Ofcom is the regulator," Mr Kyle said. "They are tasked with enforcing and they will make the judgment as to whether content is removed in an appropriate time." The Game Ratings Authority – formally known as the Video Standards Agency, which administers the PEGI system in the UK – said: "Game ratings provide parents and players information about the content of video games. In the UK, physical game releases must carry a PEGI age rating by law. Digital games are not legally required to carry an age rating, but the majority of leading stores use the trusted PEGI age rating process to provide confidence to consumers. "Although games on Steam can optionally apply for a PEGI age rating via our classification process, it is not mandated by the platform prior to a game's release. "The Games Rating Authority has not classified this game and has not been approached to classify it since its release." LBC reports it first flagged the game to Steam five days ago but, at the time of writing, No Mercy remains available on the Steam storefront in the UK. In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, CEO of Women in Games Dr Marie-Claire Isaaman added: "Women in Games is appalled by recent reports surrounding a Steam game, which encourages players to 'become every woman's worst nightmare' and 'never take no for an answer.' "The fact that a game like this is available on Steam - one of the world’s largest gaming platforms - is utterly unacceptable. It sends a clear and distressing message: that violence against women is not only tolerable, but playable. That message has no place in our industry, our communities, or our society. "This is exactly why Women in Games exists. Our mission is to challenge the harmful biases, systemic barriers, and cultural toxicity that continue to drive women and marginalized genders out of games — whether as players, developers, or leaders." "We call on Valve Corporation, the owners of Steam, to act urgently. This game must be removed. Stronger content moderation policies must be implemented. And a zero-tolerance stance on misogyny and hate must be visibly enforced." We've reached out to Valve for comment and will update as/when we receive a response.

The day before several major tech leaders appeared before Congress, begging for ways to get more energy for the nascent American artificial intelligence industry, Donald Trump signed an executive order offering a solution: increased coal production.As part of a series of executive orders released Tuesday designed to promote the rapid growth of the coal industry — opening federal lands for mining, designating coal as a critical mineral, and using his emergency authorization powers to relax environmental regulations on coal — Trump signed one explicitly aimed towards powering energy-hungry AI data centers using America’s “beautiful clean coal resources”, as Trump described it. The order directs the Commerce, Energy, and Interior Departments to conduct studies determining “where coal-powered infrastructure is available and suitable for supporting AI data centers,” as well as whether it would be economically feasible. “You know, we need to do the AI, all of this new technology that’s coming on line,” Trump said on Tuesday during a signing ceremony for all four executive orders. “We need more than double the energy, the electricity, that we currently have.”It’s an inelegant and Trumpy solution to a real, looming problem that escalates with America’s rapid adoption of AI technology: how to power all the data centers needed for computing demands. Wednesday’s hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Committee only underscored how much AI would be integrated into everyday life, from national security to household tasks, and largely focused on the sheer amount of power that would have to be poured into supporting this infrastructure. And according to the witnesses, which included former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Micron Technology EVP Manish Bhatia, and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, the industry is in dire need of consistent, reliable energy.“We need energy in all forms. Renewable, nonrenewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly.””[W]e need energy, and the numbers are profound,” Schmidt said in his opening testimony. “We need energy in all forms. Renewable, nonrenewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly.” Indeed, a study from the Electric Power Research Institute, cited in the Committee’s announcement of the hearing, projected that data centers could consume as much as 9.1 percent of all energy in the United States by the end of the decade. Bhatia cited a separate study in his testimony suggesting that due to this development, overall energy consumption would increase by 15 percent within the next five years — a huge jump from the traditional 0.5 percent rise in energy consumption per year over the past several decades — and warned that without an approach to energy that leaned on multiple fuel sources to keep costs low, “the US risks losing leadership in AI.” But even though Trump has been a longtime booster of coal, dating back to his attempt to save coal plants from shuttering in 2018, the American coal industry has been on the decline over the past several decades as consumers move towards alternative forms of energy such as oil, natural gas, and green energy. Coal currently accounts for 15 percent of American energy supply — a steep fall from 2011, when it provided nearly half of it — and as the demand for coal decreased, so too did the capacity to turn it into energy. According to a New York Times report from February, only 400 coal plants are operational in the US today, down from 780 in 2000, and nearly half of those remaining are slated for retirement within the next several decades. However, nearly a third of those plants have either had their lives extended past their scheduled retirement, or saved from retirement altogether, thanks to a rapid increase in energy demands — though experts warned the Times it’s likely not enough to reverse coal’s decline.At the same time, leaning on coal could pose an ethical conundrum for AI leaders, to say nothing of the tech industry, which has long promoted itself as a proponent of green energy. In particular, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has made a huge push for sustainable energy as a data center power source, investing in everything from solar to nuclear fusion to a carbon-capture startup offsetting current emissions, as a way to rapidly scale the supply of cheap energy. But with Trump locked in an international trade war that’s already threatening the future of the tech industry, it’s unclear whether they may have to indulge Trump’s obsession with coal — as he said during the signing ceremony, “Never use the word ‘coal’ unless you put ‘beautiful, clean’ before it” — to remain in business.See More:

A new report from research firm Newzoo indicates the storm may be tightening on the battle royale genre, but Fortnite is still holding strong.Newzoo's PC & Console Gaming Report 2025 has detailed a number of shifts and trends across the industry, and one of those moving trends is the battle royale genre. Newzoo's tracking indicates the battle royale genre has shrunk in playtime, going from 19% of playtime in 2021 to 12% in 2024.Citing its Game Performance Monitor which looks at 37 markets (excluding China and India) across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, Newzoo indicated that as a pair, shooter games and battle royale games routinely account for 40% of playtime. So as battle royale playtime has gradually shifted down, shooter playtime has been going up.Despite the 7% shift, the difference within the genre might be the more surprising number. Per Newzoo, Fortnite went from a 43% share of the battle royale genre in 2021 to a 77% share in 2024. Essentially, even as battle royale games trended down, Fortnite ate up more and more of the space within the genre.PlayRole-playing games have also seen some noticeable growth, up to 13% in 2024 over their 9% share in 2021. Newzoo reported that 18% of RPG time in 2024 was spent in major releases from 2023, spotlighting Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo IV, Honkai: Star Rail, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.As Newzoo stated in its report, the fight for attention in playtime and hours is fierce. While games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Apex Legends carry on, other games fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, shooters and role-playing games seem to be encroaching on more territory and mindshare. Looking at the success of standouts in those genres, be they Marvel Rivals or Baldur's Gate 3, it's hard to argue.With its constant slate of changes, updates, and growing library of gaming experiences and genres contained within it, it might not be surprising that Fortnite has weathered the storm. Still, time passes, and we'll doubtlessly see trends continue to shift as broad audience interests change as the years roll on.Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.

As the editor-in-chief of Country Living, I have been incredibly fortunate to learn from some of the most talented designers and stylists in the industry. I'm constantly floored by their creativity and their ability to elevate a space with a few simple tricks of the trade. One of my favorite takeaways from magazine photo shoots is the decorative impact of a simple branch clipped from the backyard. As beautiful as fresh flowers can be—I will always have a soft spot for a cluster of white hydrangeas or café au lait dahlias—the cost can add up so quickly, and there's nothing quite like a branch to make an impact. A good branch installation will also last a lot longer than grocery store flowers—more bang for your pluck, so to speak. "I love the foraged ease they bring to a space," says Senior Home and Style Editor Anna Logan. "Plus, they're a heck of a lot less fussy than flowers and can last much longer in water—no wilting arrangements here!"David HillegasBranches serve up a pretty hit of green to a bedroom designed and styled by Heather Chadduck Hillegas.David HillegasBranches bring a spa-like feel to a primary bathroom.Designer and shop owner John Derian is especially good at branch work—I'm telling you, it's an art form!—as is interior decorator and frequent magazine stylist Heather Chadduck Hillegas. For the cleanest cut, our resident Country Living gardener Charlyne Mattox recommends using these loppers over your standard clippers. "You want to make sure you get a very clean cut, and if the branch is slightly too large for clippers, it can mangle it," she says. Erin Kelly, a Pittsburgh-based photographer and stylist, says she tries to be as respectful as possible to the tree's overall health, which means cutting where the branch meets the main stem so it can regrow the following season. "I try to pick sculptural branches with natural movement," she says. "Sometimes one or two beautiful sculptural branches are all you need for major impact."Annie Schlechter, styling by Page MullinsHolly Williams’ Tennessee farmhouse also features branches in the bathroom.Nick JohnsonYellow clippings bring color to a Michigan kitchen designed by Erica Harrison.Brie Williams for Country LivingA floral centerpiece just wouldn’t have the same impact.Another benefit of branch dressing is that it's an approach that you can use year-round, however right now is an especially good time to give it a go. "Spring is the best time to forage for backyard branches, and Dogwood, Apple and Cherry Blossoms, Magnolia, and Serviceberry are some of my favorite go-to flowering branches," says Erin. "I also have overgrown Privet hedge in sections of our property that I've let grow wild specifically for branch styling purposes. Surprisingly, it also dries really beautifully. I've been known to keep a few huge dried Privet branches in Chinese rice wine vessels for months on end as they resemble an indoor tree for those of us without green thumbs." Personally, I frequently decorate with magnolia branches, regardless of season, because that's what I can source from my Birmingham, Alabama, backyard. I'm also not sure I should admit this in writing (!), but dead branches can be quite chic. On a recent shoot of my Mississippi farmhouse, our clever stylist Matthew Gleason raided the property's burn pile—the burn pile!—for a few seen-better-days branches to style our home's English-inspired boot room, and dare I say it worked?Hector M. Sanchez for Country LivingMagnolia clippings are on display in a vintage trophy in my Mississippi kitchen.David A. Land for Country LivingBranches are an easy way to incorporate fall color.Becky Luigart-Stayner for Country LivingOh, these? They came straight from the burn pile. If you're tempted to branch out, I've found that narrow-necked vessels such as glass demijohns or glass jugs make it easy to keep them nice and upright. Erin also suggests making sure your container has some heft. "When you're cutting large branches, be sure to use a vessel that is on the heavier side so that the branch weight doesn't topple it. If I'm using a lighter weight vessel, I'll place small rocks at the bottom, which helps weigh the vase down and allows for more strategic branch arranging." Finally, if you don't have a backyard to raid, my designer friends swear by the eucalyptus branches at good ol' Trader Joes.Related StoriesRachel Hardage BarrettRachel Hardage Barrett has written for and edited lifestyle publications for more than 20 years. As the editor-in-chief of Country Living, she has covered all things related to country life—including design, gardening, food, travel, antiques, crafts, and country pop culture—for more than a decade. Before Country Living, Rachel spent several years at Southern Living, where she served as Executive Editor covering travel, food, style, and features. Before Southern Living, Rachel was the Special Projects Director of Real Simple, where she wrote and oversaw books and special issues about food, travel, weddings, organizing, and parenting in addition to working on international editions and licensed products. Before working at lifestyle brands, Rachel started her magazine career at Glamour, where she wrote and edited relationship articles, celebrity interviews, as well as fashion and features content. When she’s not working on the magazine, she can likely be found poking around an antiques shop, perusing country real estate listings, or dreaming of opening a general store.

Creating a scent and crafting furniture might not seem like practices that necessarily align. Marc-Antoine Barrois would disagree. The perfumer and couturier is unveiling a line of furniture, alongside a new perfume, in an installation at Milan Design Week. The installation, Mission Aldebaran, is named for the perfume, Aldebaran, which is a single flower fragrance focused on tuberose. The installation is located at Salone dei Tessuti, a 1930s Milanese landmark, now transformed into a “dark forest.” Barrois developed the installation with designer and artist Antoine Bouillot. The pair are also releasing a line of furniture—comprised of stools and benches—that are exhibited within the installation. KefferThe clearing at the end of the installation, with handmade paper tuberose flowers. Before their big Milan debut, Elle Decor sat down with Barrois and Bouillot to discuss the making of the installation and what they hope visitors take away from the project, long after Design Week ends. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Elle Decor: First of all, tell me how this project came to be.Marc-Antoine Barrois: It all started when Quentin Bisch, a perfumer, made me smell tuberose. It brought to mind images: It’s a bright star in the night, a full moon, it’s the Patronus in Harry Potter that protects him, this huge light going out of his wand.I talked with Antoine and told him about an idea to create a space where people would be inside a dark forest and they would move toward the light. That was the starting point. Antoine Bouillot: My concern was how to make people feel, physically feel, what we had in mind. And so that's why we created this image of a forest with thousands of black ropes. We have about 87 miles of black ropes. There’s no direction, people are free to go wherever they want. And the idea is there is a tiny light in the distance, which, for us, really represents hope. By following this light, people will end up in a clearing where we have a paper tuberose field. KefferThe black ropes in the installation. Tell me a bit about the furniture—two benches (which each weigh 1,000 kilos) and three one-seater stools. How did that come into play with this whole experience?AB: In the installation, you go from something dark and kind of stressful to a meditative space where you can really gather your thoughts and be a bit more relaxed. So we needed people to be able to sit down and embrace the space.We decided to find little pebbles on the beach—a beach where Marc-Antoine lives—and we selected those very tiny pebbles like a child chooses pebbles. We had them scanned in super high definition and had them re-cut in rare marble to the size of a stool or bench. It’s the exact replica of our tiny pebbles we found on the beach. And, if you let children sit on stones in a forest, they are not going to pick the easiest stone to access or the most comfortable one. They’re going to pick the one that’s the most beautiful.KefferThe full seating collection. Marc-Antoine, what are the similarities one might not expect between designing furniture and a perfume? MB: A perfume tells a story. And I do believe that a furniture collection tells a story on its own. Even if someone gets one single seater in their living room, it’s not one single seater they're buying. It's the story of those pebbles.To me, the most beautiful place in the world is nature. We can try our best but nature still makes things much better than humans do it. That's my vision—being able to bring into people’s lives a little piece of nature. KefferThe original pebbles Barrois and Bouillot based the collection on. If you had to think about an ideal place for these pieces of furniture, what would it look like to you?AB: I like the idea of contrast, so for me it would be very interesting to see it in a Venetian Palazzo. I like this grand element, or something radical, like a Tadao Ando house, or something like all in concrete, something extremely pure. When visitors come to the installation, what do you hope they take away from it? AB: I really hope they're going to have an emotion. I know some people might just walk through and not be in touch with it, but I think some other people are going to have a much deeper connection. And that would make us happy.KefferTwo of the collection’s stools. What kind of emotion do you want them to feel?AB: For me, the clearing is going to be very relaxing and you’re going to gather your thoughts. I think it’s going to be a really personal journey which will be different for everybody. MB: It's oppressive and you don't feel comfortable in the ropes, but then we’re giving people the opportunity to express how we feel in our lives, how we feel with the news, with everything and, still, there's a light over there, and if you follow the light, you come to a place, as Antoine says, which is really relaxing and really comforting.I hope they leave with an emotion and that every time they smell the perfume, it will remind them of this emotion, saying that was an amazing moment.Mission Aldebaran will be located at Salone dei Tessuti in Milan from April 8th to 13th.Annie GoldsmithNews WriterAnnie Goldsmith is the news writer for Town & Country, where she covers culture, politics, style, and the British royal family.

We’ve heard many stories about the Apple Watch alerting people to life-threatening health conditions. A new story out of New Zealand, however, truly shows the breadth of what the Apple Watch’s preventive health monitoring can do for users. Amanda Faulkner, a consultant psychiatrist based in Napier, New Zealand, upgraded to the Apple Watch Series 10 last year. After using her husband’s old Apple Watch for years, one of the new features offered by the Apple Watch Series 10 is the Vitals app. The Vitals app tracks your overnight metrics, including heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, blood oxygen, and sleep. It then delivers a report every morning, alerting you if any of your metrics were abnormal that night. In an interview with The New Zealand Herald, Faulkner said her Apple Watch sent her multiple alerts that her resting heart rate was elevated from historically being around 55 beats per minute to being in the 90s. Initially, she thought her Apple Watch “must be faulty.” As the alerts kept coming, however, she decided to pay a visit to the doctor and share data directly from her Apple Watch. Faulkner’s general practitioner referred her to the emergency department, where she underwent testing and was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Doctors told her that if she had come in just a few days later, “she could have died from her untreated cancer and its complications.” The following day (January 9), she was transferred to Palmerston North Hospital. Faulkner is not out of the woods yet. She has been in Palmerston North Hospital ever since, receiving chemotherapy. In July she’s booked for a stem cell transplant in Wellington, which will replace her bone marrow with that of a donor’s from Europe – essentially giving her new bone marrow and a new immune system (July is the earliest staffing and available bed space allows). The stem cell procedure has a 20% chance of mortality, she says. “Hand on heart, if it wasn’t for my smartwatch constantly nagging me, I wouldn’t have even noticed something was wrong,” Faulkner said. Mike Faulkner, Amanda’s husband, also said the Apple Watch “made a life-changing difference” and increased his wife’s chances of beating cancer. Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon.  Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

It seems the only thing Bluesky hates more than Donald Trump is brands that promote artificial intelligence — and Adobe, the makers of Photoshop and Acrobat, had to find that out the hard way.Earlier this week, the Photoshop and Acrobat-maker posted an innocuous-enough introduction on its new account in an effort, like other brands have made, to find a new place to shill its AI-infused tech that doesn't explicitly promote Nazis."Hey, we're Adobe!" the since-deleted post read. "We're here to connect with the artists, designers, and storytellers who bring ideas to life."Per screenshots of the "skeet," as folks on the butterfly app are wont to call their posts, the software maker had thousands of replies and reposts but very few "likes." In social media parlance, that's known as "getting ratioed" — and boy, did Adobe get an earful.From being digitally issued the "curse of RA" to getting virtually stared at like a punk at a frat party, the longtime AI-boosting company that makes very expensive image editing software didn't receive the warm welcome it seemingly expected.Hilariously, a Photoshop account likely created by Adobe's unsuspecting social media team also got the Bluesky bully treatment. Though the software account's original post was similarly deleted in apparent shame, archivally-minded Bluesky users made and posted screen recordings of the incredible replies before it was kiboshed."Hello You Sniveling Little Bitch," reads one of the Photo replies, which is still up. "Are You Prepared To Defend Yourself, Unlike Your Foolish And Weakened Parent Company?""I assume you'll be charging us monthly to read your posts," another user wrote in a glib reference to the image manipulator's strict subscription model, which begins at $23 a month for its lowest tier and is generally required if one wants to access files saved within the software.Though both the Adobe and the Photoshop accounts are still on Bluesky, their single-post output is gone — and still, the social network's users are dancing on their deathbed."Adobe deleting their first BlueSky post because they realize that the artist community pretty much universally hates them now is extremely funny," illustrator Betsy Bauer remarked.Seemingly out for blood, yet another user noted that there are several other Adobe accounts to "block and bully" on Bluesky. Hopefully the people working on those social media teams will think before they skeet.More on the other site: Grok Is Rebelling Against Elon Musk, Daring Him to Shut It DownShare This Article

The Last of Us Season 2 hasn’t premiered on HBO and Max yet, but the cable channel and streaming service have already renewed the hit zombie series, inspired by the best-seling video-game franchise, for a Season 3.Even as it comes ahead of Season 2’s premiere, the news is not wildly surprising. The first season of The Last of Us ranked among HBO’s biggest shows in history, and the show was designed to adapt the events of both The Last of Us PlayStation games. While Season of the television series adapted the events of the first Last of Us game, Season 2 only covers part of the storyline from The Last of Us Part II.The show’s cast includes Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, and new stars Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Danny Ramirez, and Jeffrey Wright, with Catherine O’Hara also appearing in a guest-starring role.HBOHBOloading...READ MORE: The Funniest Episodes of Drama TV ShowsIt’s not yet clear whether Season 3 of The Last of Us will be the last, or whether further seasons beyond that will be needed to fully conclude the story. But given how well the first season did for HBO and Max, don’t you assume they are going to want to keep this series going as long as they possibly can?Here is the official synopsis for The Last of Us Season 2:Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.The Last of Us Season 2 premieres this Sunday on HBO and Max at 9PM ET. The full season runs just seven episodes.The 10 Weirdest Ways Actors Were Written Off of TV ShowsThere has to be some reason for their character’s absence — usually a sudden death — and the more absurd, the better. Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky

A career at Lumenalta means the freedom to continue your tech career on your terms. Build exceptional things from wherever you might be.At Lumenalta, we create impactful software solutions that drive innovation and transform businesses. Since 2000, we’ve partnered with visionary leaders to build cutting-edge tech, solve complex challenges, and deliver results faster through our elite teams and tech-driven approach. Join us in shaping the future of technology.With over 20 years of fully remote experience, Lumenalta offers:Fully remote workRapid growth opportunitiesSelf-ImprovementIndustry-leading clientsNurturing engineers’ career pathsWhat You Will Work OnCollaborate with visionary enterprise clientsCreate transformative digital productsLearn how to handle difficult situationsTackle complex challenges at scalePush boundaries with emerging technologiesRequirementsExpertise in React, Node, Express, Mongo, SQLWe have a 2-hour assessmentHigh-level English proficiency (written & verbal)Show up as a proactive, team-oriented self-starter on ZoomWhy Lumenalta?Work on meaningful, impactful projects.Collaborate with a talented, supportive teamEnjoy a flexible, remote-first environmentJoin a company that values your growthIf you’re a passionate, career-focused developer ready to make a lasting impact, we want to hear from you!What's it like to work at Lumenalta?Ongoing recruitment – no set deadline.Apply NowLet's start your dream job Apply now

Update: Since this story was first published in The Spark, our weekly climate newsletter, the White House announced that most reciprocal tariffs would be paused for 90 days. That pause does not apply to China, which will see an increased tariff rate of 125%. Today, new tariffs go into effect for goods imported into the US from basically every country on the planet. Since Donald Trump announced his plans for sweeping tariffs last week, the vibes have been, in a word, chaotic. Markets have seen one of the quickest drops in the last century, and it’s widely anticipated that the global economic order may be forever changed.   While many try not to look at the effects on their savings and retirement accounts, experts are scrambling to understand what these tariffs might mean for various industries. As my colleague James Temple wrote in a new story last week, anxieties are especially high in climate technology. These tariffs could be particularly rough on the battery industry. China dominates the entire supply chain and is subject to monster tariff rates, and even US battery makers won’t escape the effects.    First, in case you need it, a super-quick refresher: Tariffs are taxes charged on goods that are imported (in this case, into the US). If I’m a US company selling bracelets, and I typically buy my beads and string from another country, I’ll now be paying the US government an additional percentage of what those goods cost to import. Under Trump’s plan, that might be 10%, 20%, or upwards of 50%, depending on the country sending them to me.  In theory, tariffs should help domestic producers, since products from competitors outside the country become more expensive. But since so many of the products we use have supply chains that stretch all over the world, even products made in the USA often have some components that would be tariffed. In the case of batteries, we could be talking about really high tariff rates, because most batteries and their components currently come from China. As of 2023, the country made more than 75% of the world’s lithium-ion battery cells, according to data from the International Energy Agency. Trump’s new plan adds a 34% tariff on all Chinese goods, and that stacks on top of a 20% tariff that was already in place, making the total 54%. (Then, as of Wednesday, the White House further raised the tariff on China, making the total 104%.) But when it comes to batteries, that’s not even the whole story. There was already a 3.5% tariff on all lithium-ion batteries, for example, as well as a 7.5% tariff on batteries from China that’s set to increase to 25% next year. If we add all those up, lithium-ion batteries from China could have a tariff of 82% in 2026. (Or 132%, with this additional retaliatory tariff.) In any case, that’ll make EVs and grid storage installations a whole lot more expensive, along with phones, laptops, and other rechargeable devices. The economic effects could be huge. The US still imports the majority of its lithium-ion batteries, and nearly 70% of those imports are from China. The US imported $4 billion worth of lithium-ion batteries from China just during the first four months of 2024. Although US battery makers could theoretically stand to benefit, there are a limited number of US-based factories. And most of those factories are still purchasing components from China that will be subject to the tariffs, because it’s hard to overstate just how dominant China is in battery supply chains. While China makes roughly three-quarters of lithium-ion cells, it’s even more dominant in components: 80% of the world’s cathode materials are made in China, along with over 90% of anode materials. (For those who haven’t been subject to my battery ramblings before, the cathode and anode are two of the main components of a battery—basically, the plus and minus ends.) Even battery makers that work in alternative chemistries don’t seem to be jumping for joy over tariffs. Lyten is a California-based company working to build lithium-sulfur batteries, and most of its components can be sourced in the US. (For more on the company’s approach, check out this story from 2024.) But tariffs could still spell trouble. Lyten has plans for a new factory, scheduled for 2027, that rely on sourcing affordable construction materials. Will that be possible? “We’re not drawing any conclusions quite yet,” Lyten’s chief sustainability officer, Keith Norman, told Heatmap News. The battery industry in the US was already in a pretty tough spot. Billions of dollars’ worth of factories have been canceled since Trump took office.  Companies making investments that can total hundreds of millions or billions of dollars don’t love uncertainty, and tariffs are certainly adding to an already uncertain environment. We’ll be digging deeper into what the tariffs mean for climate technology broadly, and specifically some of the industries we cover. If you have questions, or if you have thoughts to share about what this will mean for your area of research or business, I’d love to hear them at casey.crownhart@technologyreview.com. I’m also on Bluesky @caseycrownhart.bsky.social. This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.