In an increasingly digital society, acquiring power to keep our smartphones, laptop computers and electric vehicles running is becoming essential to stay in communication and to get around.
To make gadgets and appliances last longer as well as run smaller, thinner devices, Japanese manufacturers are working on what they think is a next-generation power source: solid-state rechargeable batteries.
In 2010, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, a government-funded research body dubbed NEDO, urged manufacturers to develop innovative rechargeable batteries by 2030.