IP: The Next Big Thing in Battery Power? They're Working on It

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

The Next Big Thing in Battery Power? They're Working on It
LA TIMES - SCIENCE WATCH
Monday, January 11, 1999

Scientists around the world are reporting significant progress in developing
a new generation of lithium batteries that could be the energy source of the
future for everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles.

{snip}

Ultralife's new lithium ion batteries use a solid polymer electrolyte, and
that offers some advantages, according to Greg Smith, marketing manager for
the firm

That "revolutionary technology," as he described it, makes it possible to
design batteries in any shape and virtually any size.

"A solid polymer battery can be less than 1 millimeter in thickness," he
said. "And you can do odd shapes, because it is housed in a super-thin,
flexible laminate. You can even curve the cell."

Ultralife claims its batteries can be recharged hundreds of times and don't
have the "memory" that shortens the life span of nickel cadmium batteries.

{snip}

Full Story:
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/SCIENCE/SCIENCE/t000003020.1.html