Exploding batteries may be a thing of the past.

hlh_nospam writes: "A company named Altairnano has introduced a new LiOn battery technology that is much safer than current LiOn-Graphite used in present-day batteries. It can also withstand up to 250 degrees C with no thermal runaway. According to their white paper, the new technology can support current densities that can completely charge a cell in just a few minutes, compared to a few hours with today's cells. The best part? They have tested the cells with more than 9000 deep-discharge cycles, with less than a 15% decline in capacity. The tradeoff is that the cell will only hold about 90% of the energy of present LiOn cells.

This new technology would have great potential for use in electric cars or hybrids, where the battery could easily outlast the rest of the car (buy the car, lease the battery pack separately, maybe?). Personally, I'd gladly put up with a 10% capacity decrease in return for never having to replace another LiOn battery in my laptop, cellphone, or PDA."