Improved battery technology is something that would benefit just about every consumer piece of hardware out there, from something as small as a smartwatch to something as large as an automobile. Unfortunately, most battery advances at this point simply involve companies cutting down the size of as many components as possible so they can cram in the biggest batteries they can make. Tesla, which has as much to gain from improved battery technology as any company in the world, is desperately trying to figure out how to move the market forward, and now it sounds like Google is doing the same.

A new report from The Wall Street Journal indicates that the secretive and experimental Google X lab is trying to develop new battery technology to power its expanding universe of hardware products and emerging technology. While better batteries could certainly make for a better Nexus phone, the report indicated that Google was likely to push this technology across a wide variety of the less established industries it works in, including its self-driving cars as well as more general healthcare, robotics, and communications groups.

How much of a priority this is to Google remains to be seen, though — the WSJ says that only four people are currently part of this team, one of whom is former Apple employee and battery expert Dr. Ramesh Bhardwaj. But there are definitely plenty of projects at Google that would benefit from better battery technology — the report also cited Google Glass and the company's "smart contact lens" that can measure glucose levels to help diabetics better monitor their health.