Motor magazine has an interesting article on some new battery tech in their January Issue (go to motor.com and pick out magazine then articles -- it's under Eye on Electronics)

The deal is a combination battery and 'supercapacitor'. A couple of companies are trying to work this out using slightly different approaches.

The big deal here is that this might make a somewhat hybrid car feasible. The car would run on an IC engine, but use some electrical motors to add some temporary boost.

The battery/cap fits in for several reasons
1) It allows for short high discharges
2) It allows for some quick charging(currently not a lead acid feature). This allows it to pick up juice from things like regenerative brakes.
3)It doesn't require the complex control setup needed for other battery technologies
4) It's supposed to be generally better about charging, and to resist becoming sulfated

It's also probable that it could be manufactured at existing plants (after some changes in the plants, of course). Plus, it should retain the lead acid recyclable characteristic. (Hybrid car battery types are generally NOT recyclable)

This might actually be something,

hj