The switchover to an electric vehicle (EV) future is bound to happen, with increased sales and companies like Volvo committing to hybrid models in the next couple of years. One of the things still holding back widespread adoption of the technology, however, is the low range the current crop of EV batteries represent. We're not going to put all of our hopes into cars that can only travel so far, especially as the infrastructure to recharge such vehicles is thin on the ground.

Toyota is looking to change that, however, with a new solid electrolyte battery technology that would make for smaller, lighter lithium-ion batteries, which could then combine into higher-range charges for electric cars. Toyota told The Wall Street Journal that the batteries are in "production engineering" now, and that we might be able to buy cars with the new batteries by the early 2020s.