Stanford University scientists have developed a new version of lithium-ion battery that provides ten times more battery power. The team leader Yi Cui (assistant professor of materials science and engineering) said, "It's not a small improvement, it's a revolutionary development. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers."

In the high-performance lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires, lithium is stored in a forest of tiny silicon nanowires, each with a diameter one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper. The nanowires inflate four times their normal size as they soak up lithium. But, unlike other silicon shapes, they do not fracture.

Cui said that a patent application has been filed and he is considering formation of a company or an agreement with a battery manufacturer.

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