Solid-state batteries have the potential to dominate the next generation of batteries, letting Japanese companies regain prominence in a field they once led.

Although the use of rechargeable solid-state batteries in electric vehicles has drawn the most attention, it is in consumer electronics that this new technology could make its impact felt first.

Japanese electronic components maker TDK is at the forefront with a tiny solid-state battery that can sit on a fingertip. That signals a chance for Japanese companies to reclaim market share from their rivals in South Korea and China in the highly competitive field.

Unlike the current lithium-ion generation of batteries, solid-states have no liquid that can leak so they are safer, and they also have the capacity to hold a far greater charge.

TDK has completed developing a chip-sized battery a few millimeters long that can be recharged 1,000 times. It has already begun shipping samples and is setting up operations for mass production. The company expects applications in the home, the office and the factory for equipment like lighting and air conditioners. For the last of these, the tiny batteries would replace the alkaline button batteries now used to power the sensors that measure temperature throughout a room to adjust the level of the air conditioner.

Many kinds of next-generation batteries are under development, but solid-states are the furthest along and may soon find practical applications.

One promising application is as a replacement for lithium-ions in electric vehicles. Japanese automaker Toyota Motor aims to have solid-state batteries ready for market during the early 2020s that can charge faster and give cars a greater range. Germany's Volkswagen plans to have mass-production in place by around 2025.

But neither of these projects has reached the stage where batteries are ready for shipping.

If tiny solid-state batteries from companies like TDK reach the market, their applications could spread throughout society far beyond vehicles. Challenges like greater charge capacity remain to be resolved, but it may not be long before these batteries find their way into computers, smartphones and all manner of consumer electronic products.