Toshiba are ready to launch their new SCiB batteries which will take 5 minutes to fully charge and last for 10 years.

The wee 2.4V version measures 62 x 95 x 13-mm / 150-grams while the big, bad 24V version measures in at 100 x 300 x 45-mm and 2000-grams, and they won’t short-circuit or explode.

Only problem is that the first batch of these will be for industrial use only so it will be a while before a commercial versions are made available.

One of the best applications I can see these being used for is in laptops where battery power is always an issue especially when you are running demanding application.

More can be found here and here.