Sekisui Chemical invented a new long range lithium battery technology

Sekisui Chemical company developed a silicon-based material for use in lithium-ion car batteries that can store three times as much power as existing cells, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The company announced Tuesday that the new silicon-based material for use in lithium ion batteries could result in batteries that deliver a driving range of about 370 miles -- roughly equivalent to how far a typical car can go on a full tank of gas but at a much lower cost. 

Maybe more importantly, the new material can bring battery production costs down to just above 30,000 yen ($290) per kilowatt-hour, a decrease of more than 60 percent from around 100,000 yen ($976) today, according to the report.

Sekisui's announcement on its Japanese-language Web page cites the "value" characteristics of the new battery tech, including the promise of a lithium ion battery that is about one-third the weight of a conventional electric car battery, allowing for a highly-compact car battery.

The Japanese company plans to begin sample shipments to battery manufacturers by summer 2014 at the earliest, with mass production slated for 2015.