For battery makers of electric vehicles, it's go small or go home

In the quest for smaller batteries that charge extremely quickly, the startup firms are experimenting with materials like silicon-carbon, tungsten and niobium.

In the race to go electric, carmakers have focused on range to ease consumer anxiety over charging infrastructure, but battery makers are already working on the smaller, longer-lasting and cheaper batteries of the future, which also charge more quickly.
 

While carmakers today chase market leader Tesla Inc , seeking to build cars that can travel 300 miles (482 km) or more between charges, battery startups expect range will matter less as public electric vehicle (EV) chargers become ubiquitous.

In the quest for smaller batteries that charge extremely quickly, the startup firms are experimenting with materials like silicon-carbon, tungsten and