FILE - In a Oct. 25, 1940 file photo, F. Hans, mechanic of Frankfort-on-Main, tests the battery on an electrically driven bicycle device he has constructed to help save gasoline in the Reich in Germany. The bicycle is run by a 0.4 horsepower electric motor which receives its current from an 8-volt 60-ampere battery. It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the last big jump in battery technology. As 21st century technology strains to be ever faster, cleaner and cheaper, the battery, an invention from more than 200 years ago keeps holding it back. It's why electric cars aren't clogging the roads and why Boeing's new ultra-efficient 787 Dreamliners aren't flying high. (AP Photo, File)