Yesterday, Sony announced a new battery technology that offers vast improvements offer current rechargeables on the market today.

The technology inside the battery is called ‘olivine-type lithium iron phosphate’, and according to Sony they have the ability to be charged to 99% capacity in just 30 minutes.  Compare that to today’s rechargeable, even Sanyo’s Enloops and we’re talking significant improvements.  Even better, Sony’s new batteries can be charged up to 2,000 times before they lose more than 80% of their effectiveness.

But, and yes there is a but, the olivine-type lithium iron batteries are slightly longer than the standard AA, which means that they can only be used in future products or products that accept changeable battery packs, such as power tools.

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I’m not sure how well these work, but apparently the NoPoPo (no pollution power) batteries can be charged by peeing, yes peeing into them.  I’ll stick to my Enloops thank you very much seeing as you can only recharge them 2 to 5 times.

The NoPoPo batteries are rechargeable via a variety of liquids, including water and urine, injected into the battery chamber with a pipette. A mixture of magnesium and carbon reacts with the liquid and produces power up to 500 mAh in the case of an AA-size battery. The batteries come in AA and AAA and retain their charge for up to 10 years. However, they can be recharged only a limited number of times (2 to 5 times on average).

Available here for $15

[ShinyShiny]