There is tons of battery research going on there. Just google it.
I fly electric RC airplanes and twenty years ago they were slow and heavy with nicads, could barley fly for 5 mins. Then it was nimh batteries which was a minor leap but what revolutionised the electric RC industry was Lipos. Everything is electric now from huge helicopters that can be flown for 15+ minutes and drones. The drone industry has exploded due to lipos. We need more leaps like that in battery technology.
What I would like to see is a effort like the Manhattan or Apollo project to develop new super efficient and cheaper storage and production of power. Just think if a battery or what ever you call it could power you car for a week or your work tools for a month your phone or tablet for a year. What if never had to worry about power again. Think what society could do if the problems of limited power where mostly gone.