Next-generation lithium batteries step forward

Developmental solid-state lithium-ion and lithium-air batteries could one day provide ample EV power.

The history of the electric storage battery is marked by five technology advances that in turn boosted battery capacity to the point that they can today power electric cars for a useful distance, about 100 mi (161 km).

So says Peter G. Bruce, a chemist at the University of St. Andrews, in Fife, U.K., who has been a battery specialist “for longer than I care to think of.” One-hundred miles may not be far enough yet to curb EV range anxiety, but, he noted, one should not underestimate the amount by which the lithium-ion battery has improved since the 1970s.