While electrochemical operation, involving the efficiency of the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy through redox reactions, is a large part of choosing the right battery for a particular application, factors such as sustainability, safety, and cost should also play a role in battery selection. Even though both the aluminum and the lithium that are used in the batteries are naturally occurring metals in Earth's crust, many components make one metal far more consumer-friendly and environmentally favorable than the other such as the vast difference in abundance. Additionally, a large amount of research is being done currently to match the electrochemical performance of aluminum ion batteries to that of the current industry standard. Simply put, the emergence of aluminum-ion batteries could redefine the economic landscape of energy storage. Delivering comparable performance to lithium-ion batteries but at a significantly reduced cost, this innovation has the potential to broaden access to advanced energy solutions, impacting not just consumers but entire industries. Exploring the process of how resources are extracted and the life cycles of both these metals can help with fairly comparing them.