If it all pans out the outfit has developed a solid-state battery allowing cars to have a range of 1,200 km (745 miles) that could charge in 10 minutes or less and would be simpler to manufacture than a conventional lithium-ion battery.

Toyota said it had simplified the production of the material used to make solid-state batteries. It hailed the discovery as a significant leap forward that could dramatically cut charging times and increase driving range.

Toyota research and development centre for carbon neutrality president Keiji Kaita said: "For both our liquid and solid-state batteries, we aim to drastically change the situation where current batteries are too big, heavy and expensive. In terms of potential, we will aim to halve all of these factors."

He added that his company has developed ways to make batteries more durable. He believed it could now make a solid-state battery with a range of 1,200 km (745 miles) that could charge in 10 minutes or less and would be simpler to manufacture than a conventional lithium-ion battery.

Of course, we have heard this all before with everyone at some point claiming to have had a battery breakthrough but we are always ending up using the dodgy lithium flavour.