Recognizing this, IBM started the Battery 500 project in 2009 to develop a new type of lithium-air battery technology that is expected to improve energy density tenfold, dramatically increasing the amount of energy these batteries can generate and store. Today, IBM researchers have successfully demonstrated the fundamental chemistry of the charge-and-recharge process for lithium-air batteries. In 2012, industry leaders Central Glass and Asahi Kasei joined the project. Each brings a history of electric vehicle materials innovation to help IBM put research on the road.