Well, it was left to the marketplace... and the market discovered and created lithium batteries, which are a highly effective form of energy storage.
And your pleas about “leave it to the market” are ignoring that fact.
The market worked. The market spoke. And we need lithium to do what the market found out.
Yes, there might be a better solution. But it might take years to discover and bring online some new technology.
Check out post # 7.
Best to get started right away then...
But I'll betcha my entire stock of double-a's somebody has been on that for a while already. It's not like these R&D shops discover some new technology and then go home and do crossword puzzles until OMG PEAK WHATEVER!!!