So far, it seems like there haven't been any real breakout breakthroughs in batteries, though we have seen definite improvements. When true winning solutions start to emerge, however, it will likely leave many efforts high and dry with "stranded assets" — equipment and other things specifically designed for certain manufacturing processes that may not be needed for making a new formulation.

With as much as $16.7 billion invested in existing facilities and $42 billion more in additional capacity being put in place by 2022, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, one can see how much is at stake. Let's say an outfit like, perhaps, Fisker, delivers with its solid state battery technology and it lives up to its hype. A lot of this investment may be "stranded," while companies rush to adopt the latest tech. Who is going to buy an electric car with a 40 kWh battery that's slow to charge, when they can spend the same money for something with a 150 kWh battery that charges in a jiffy? No one.