lithium-ion batteries

(Newser) - Think fuel cells are just for cars? Think again. Their real value may be to power portable electronics such as laptops and cell phones. Fuel cells that use methanol, rather than gasoline, could replace batteries in electronics. They last much longer and take just a moment to refuel—and they're...

(Newser) - Toyota, the world's leader in hybrid vehicle production, has geared up to deliver by 2010 a gas-electric hybrid car whose batteries will recharge from a normal electrical socket. With the announcement yesterday at the Detroit auto show, Toyota pits itself against General Motors, which has also pledged a plug-in hybrid...

(Newser) - The Department of Transportation has banned certain kinds of lithium batteries from checked airline luggage, citing worries over short circuiting and fires. Lithium batteries installed inside of electronic devices will be permitted as carryon, but loose batteries, unless sealed inside a plastic bag, will no longer be permitted on board.

(Newser) - Apple may have another fire to put out—literally. Danny Williams says he was at work in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport when his 2-year-old iPod Nano caught fire in his pocket. “If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist,...