Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are trying to build the perfect battery.
Lithium-ion batteries are the gold standard, but there is much progress to be made. For example, one improvement would be to create solid-state batteries in order to eliminate the need for the flammable electrolyte that is inside lithium-ion batteries.
Solid-state batteries also could have three times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, which might allow things like electric flight.