If we can build a better battery, we can change the world.

That statement may seem overblown if you think of batteries only as minor necessities — little cylinders that power children’s toys, flashlights and laptop computers.

But with rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threatening our global environment, it’s clear that we need to move fast to replace carbon-emitting fossil fuels with wind and solar power. Unfortunately, electricity has no “shelf life”; it must be used as soon as it’s generated.