METI will set up teams of researchers from the automobile and battery manufacturers together with university researchers. Their first goal will be to reduce the retail price of high-capacity lithium-ion batteries by 85%. Eventually, by 2030, the battery prices should be reduced by 97.5%.

A further aim is that by 2015 an electric vehicle (EV) should be available that will cost slightly more than a minicar, but the reduced power consumption will make it a more advantageous choice after about 10 years of use.

The battery research branches out both into batteries for Hybrid Vehicles (high power, low energy content) and for Electric Vehicles (lower power, high energy content). By 2030 METI has set a target that an electric vehicle will be able to drive 500 kilometres on a single charge.