Sustainability has always been key an d it will become even more pressing in a post-pandemic world. Sustainable energy is perhaps one of the arms of sustainability that drives the most attention. With innovations like solar or wind powered electricity and batteries, electric cars, one can only wonder what comes next to drive sustainable change in the energy sector.

More often than not, answers to questions like these come from China. Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) says its new battery is capable of powering a vehicle for more than a million miles (1.2 million, to be precise – or 1.9 million km) over a 16-year lifespan.

Most car batteries offer warranties for 60,000-150,000 miles over a three to eight-year period. CATL chair, Zeng Yuqun, admits that the development is a massive improvement in battery life, but will cost just 10% more than existing products.

The batteries were created primarily to tackle the issue of electric cars, especially how often and where they need to be charged. And you can bet that when a solution for the electric car industry is provided, Elon Musk is not far away. Seth Weintraub, a US battery technology journalist, says his sources tell him these batteries are going into Teslas right now, and thinks this will be one of Mr Musk’s “battery day” revelations.

These million mile batteries can also be utilised for “stationary” storage too. They can be attached to wind turbines or solar panels so renewable energy is available when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. Soon, we might be needing a stationary battery in homes to store cheap off-peak electricity, or to collect the power your own solar panels generate. It is obvious that these gigantic-capacity batteries connected to our electricity grids will be central to the great renewable energy revolution too.