The Basic Battery is one of the first electronics components you'll need to produce in Subnautica 2. It sits at the core of early-game tool progression — the Scanner, which lets you scan resources and lifeforms to unlock Fabricator blueprints, requires one battery to build. Batteries also feed into Power Cells later, which power vehicles and base systems. Knowing how to get a steady supply early makes everything else easier.
The recipe is short: 2x Copper and 1x Acidic Raion Pouch. The copper is easy. The Acidic Raion Pouch is the part that trips people up, because you need a specific tool to harvest it and the plant itself can hit you with acid if you approach it wrong.
Basic Battery in Fabricator
What materials do you need to craft a Basic Battery?
The crafting recipe confirmed in the current early access build is:
Both materials are common, but the Acidic Raion Pouch requires the Survival Multitool to harvest. Without it, you simply cannot cut the pouches free.
Each Acidic Raion plant can yield up to five pouches per harvest, so a single plant gives you enough material for multiple batteries in one trip.
How to get Copper
Copper deposits appear inside underwater caves. The closest reliable source from your starting lifepod is northeast, near the ruins of a crashed ship. Small copper nodes can be picked up bare-handed — no tools required. Grab them as you pass through caves and you'll accumulate the two needed for a battery without any dedicated farming.
How to get Acidic Raion Pouch
Acidic Raions are large, purple, brain-like plants found in caves at various depths. Each plant has three purple pouches on its sides and a Medical Gel Sac at its center. The pouches are what you need for the battery recipe.
Here's the catch: if you try to harvest the Medical Gel Sac before removing the pouches, the plant blasts you with acid. Remove the pouches first.
To do that, you need the Survival Multitool. Craft it at a Fabricator using 3x Titanium (titanium can be picked up as black metal fragments from the seabed). Once crafted, equip the hatchet function on the Survival Multitool, approach an Acidic Raion, and right-click to cut the pouches free. Each plant yields three pouches.
Harvesting the Medical Gel Sac without first removing the Acidic Raion Pouches will trigger an acid blast. Always cut the pouches first.
As a bonus, once the pouches are removed you can safely collect the Medical Gel Sac, which is used to craft an Enhanced First Aid Kit. Two useful resources from one plant.
How to craft the Basic Battery in the Fabricator
With 2x Copper and 1x Acidic Raion Pouch in your inventory, head to your Fabricator. Open the Resources tab, navigate to the Electronics section, and select Basic Battery. Wait for the crafting animation to complete and the battery will land in your inventory.
The process takes only a few seconds. Craft several at once if you have the materials, because you'll burn through them faster than expected once you start building tools.
The Scanner recipe costs 1x Battery, 2x Titanium, and 2x Quartz. It should be your first battery-powered tool, since scanning lifeforms and resources unlocks new blueprints in the Fabricator.
Subnautica 2 Guide: How to Craft a Battery - Insider Gaming
If you'd rather skip crafting entirely, batteries can also turn up inside crates while exploring the ocean, though this is unreliable compared to farming the materials directly.
What can you build with a Basic Battery?
Beyond the Scanner, batteries feed into a wider chain of tools and systems. They are also used to craft Power Cells, which power vehicles and base infrastructure later in the game. Getting comfortable with the battery farming loop early means you won't hit a wall when those larger crafting requirements appear.
For a full breakdown of what to prioritize in your first hours, check out the Subnautica 2 beginner tips and essential strategies covering oxygen, scanning, base building, and navigation. If you want to know what new systems and features are waiting deeper in the game, the confirmed new features for early access covers the new planet Zazura, 4-player co-op, and the Tadpole vehicle among other additions.
For everything else you need across all stages of the game, the full Subnautica 2 strategy guides collection has you covered.