Batteries are definitely the future until some other wireless energy transmission technology is discovered.
In the meantime I believe that Lithium has a limited usefulness horizon.
The reason is the position of Li on the periodic table. Just underneath it is Na - Sodium which in terms of energy storage is on the orders of magnitude more capable than Lithium is.
The CSIRO and other research is on the cusp of the breakthrough that will bring Na batteries into being which will obsolete all Lithium batteries in a sweep because of the energy density per unit mass of Na vs Li.
Getting excited in Lithium now is like excitement in the 60s over cadmium in its role in Nickel Cadmium batteries.
Remember Sodium is one of the most abundant and available metals on earth. It will mean the end of Lithium as we know it.
