NEC on Monday announced the development of a new lithium-ion battery that the company says could hold 83 percent of its original charge after 23,500 cycles. Based on tests it conducted, NEC estimates that the new technology can be used to produce batteries that can maintain half of their original charge for about 33 years--double that of conventional models.

This could mean huge savings for applications where longevity is a concern, such as in electrical power systems for buildings.

NEC says it has no concrete plans at the moment for when it will commercialize the technology, though the company has reportedly signed an earlier deal with Nissan to develop durable batteries for use in electric vehicles. As reported by Thinq_, speculation is that this new technology was developed as part of the Nissan deal.

If true, this would mean that it may be a while yet before the technology filters down to consumer electronics like smartphones and laptops. Where laptops are concerned, being able to achieve double the longevity of batteries could lead to significantly lower e-waste in terms of batteries that are prematurely discarded. Of course, it is not clear if the reduction in waste would extend to smartphones and tablets, what with the rapid-fire pace at which new versions are being released.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld
- check out this article at Thinkq_

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