Startup to Ship Notebook Batteries by June

Boston-Power of Westborough, Massachusetts, has garnered $8 million in first-round venture financing and plans to deliver a novel lithium-ion battery for notebook computers in the first half of this year. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, chief executive and founder, says the company's batteries are based on a modified chemistry and a "systems-level" design geared to provide laptops longer battery life and greater safety. Founded in January 2005, Boston-Power also has a manufacturing plant in Shenzhen, China. Word of the startup comes as existing battery makers are shifting from compounds using cobalt to manganese, nickel or iron for some components. The emerging chemistries could provide incremental gains in energy density, but will also force changes in charge and cut-off voltages. Boston-Power also hopes to address the safety issue with its products in the light of the recall of notebook lithium-ion batteries built by Sony Corp.