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A new substance could reduce the use of batteries. Microsoft and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory said that a new "material unknown to us and not present in nature" could potentially reduce the use oflithium in batteries by up to 70%. Business Insider subscribers have exclusive access to this story. Microsoft's researchers used artificial intelligence and the internet to find 18 promising candidates in 80 hours. The discovery has the potential to address issues with the material such as environmental concerns and market shortages. "Lithium and other strategic elements used in these batteries are finite resources with limited and geographically concentrated supplies," said a Group Leader at PNNL. He said they were made with sustainable materials that protected the Earth's limited resources.