Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc, announced that it has completed the 500th full depth cycle of a lithium titanate battery that the company developed under contract with the U.S. Navy. In testing, the battery was shown to have only lost 1% of its capacity, a stunning result that highlights the long life of the new battery technology. When testing is complete, the batteries will be used on Navy destroyers and other vessels instead of a back-up generator. However, CEO Terry Copeland foresees a broader application for the technology in the future:

"This is an important milestone in our battery development. Proving out our unprecedented battery technology for a large-scale operation like a Navy destroyer paves the way for a safe, less costly, and environmentally sustainable substitute for turbines that use increasingly costly imported oil. We are proud to be working with the U.S. Navy and assisting in the launch of a new battery backup system. Given the number of ships to which Altair’s technology could be applied, this electrical storage and rapid power delivery system could reduce the Navy’s consumption of fuel by tens of millions of gallons each year. Once proven, our technology could be used by, not only the U.S. Navy, but commercial and foreign buyers."