The rapidly approaching electric car future, accelerated by government mandates targeting internal combustion engines, would seem to spell the end for quite a few companies that have produced components for engines. But several of those companies have foreseen the eventual demise of internal combustion technology and began planning for its phaseout years ago.

This includes 81-year-old NGK Spark Plug, based in Nagoya, Japan. The company has turned its attention to creating solid-state batteries, which hold the promise of lighter weight, greater energy storage and faster recharging times for electric cars. Solid-state batteries are so named since they don’t contain the liquid electrolytes present in lithium-ion batteries, which is what makes them heavy, difficult to build and a fire hazard when damaged. Instead, they are composed of solid conductive materials that can include ceramics — NGK’s area of expertise for decades.

“We realized that it was inevitable that the industry would at some point shift from the internal combustion engine to battery EVs, and that ultimately this could make our spark plug and oxygen sensor businesses obsolete,” Takio Kojima, senior general manager of engineering and R&D at NGK Spark Plug told Reuters.