Leaps in lithium-ion battery technology during the last two decades sparked the smartphone revolution and drove the rise of electric vehicles. But these advances came after a long incubation period of research and development, and one expert tells ENR that while gradual improvements will continue for lithium ion, there aren’t any other major breakthroughs in batteries on the near horizon.

“At this current stage, at least for the next decade, I don’t think there will be anything to replace lithium ion for batteries,” says Daniel Abraham, senior material researcher at Argonne National Lab. Abraham’s research focuses on finding ways to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries without compromising their life, often through subtle tweaks in the chemistry. “The time to commercialization for these sort of battery systems is at least 10 years, so for now, lithium ion is expected to remain dominant,” he says.