Making batteries more efficient is the key to putting more electric cars on roads and one Slovak company is now using artificial intelligence to produce what it hails as a cutting-edge, "intelligent battery".

Bratislava-based battery production company InoBat says it's using AI to find the best cell chemistry for customers.

For future electric car owners, this means the potential for greatly extended ranges coupled with a reduction in the amount of harmful chemicals, often extracted in unethical conditions, needed in production.

The use of AI enables the company to fast track battery cell progress from the laboratory to the factory floor, according to the various performance requirements of the car manufacturers it supplies. These include Peugeot, Kia and Jaguar Land Rover.

"No other battery cell maker has the technology to test and discover battery chemistries as quickly as InoBat," said company founder and CEO Marian Bocek.

The "innovative and customised batteries" for up to 240,000 cars will be turned out from 2021, with the maker promising an increase of almost 20% in operational range.

InoBat said research has also allowed the firm to reduce its dependence on cobalt, a toxic mineral whose extraction has triggered concerns about human rights abuses and child labour.

Battery makers are keen to cut the amount of cobalt and to clean up complex global supply chains at the same time.

InoBat also plans to substantially boost the energy density of its batteries - which increases their power and longevity - by the end of 2023.

 - dpa