Batteries are often considered to be the main obstacle in the diffusion of Hybrid Electric and Electric Vehicles. Indeed autonomy and lifetime of the vehicle are key points that depend directly on the batteries. Many recent developments have deeply modified their characteristics. Lithium batteries are often considered as the solution for energy storage in automotive applications but actually there is a large variety in the lithium batteries family. Even if published results periodically announce that some outsider technologies (sodium, ultrabattery,...) would dethrone the lithium from its leadership position, many research options are still to be investigated with lithium (lithium-air, lithium-silicium,...).The aim of this keynote is to give a basic up-to-date knowledge about these crucial components: How to decipher the data sheets? What are the technologies used today? What could be the technologies tomorrow?