I keep thinking about this video clip from early April on 4 WNBC.COM - the 5 minute new story is about plug-in hybrids, hybrids and all-electric vehicles. CEO Michael Reed of Electro Energy makes a bullish forecast for the accompanying battery technology, estimating that in 5 years, a typical plug-in battery will have a range of 100 miles on a full charge, compared to just 20 today.

That would be very impressive. After all, if your better than average Nickel Metal Hydride battery delivers 70 watt hours per kilo, we are looking at a battery in 5 years time that delivers 350 watt hours per kilo of power. That is a very big jump which - if the cost is reasonable - would lead to a slam-dunk case for plug-in-hybrids. That's because the average american auto journey is no more than 24 miles and in the UK, more like 15. So you quickly see how big the potential is. For all that, Electro Energy is small and by market cap., over the last 12 months, getting smaller and now stands at $26 million.

What Electro Energy believes it offers over other battery manufacturers, is it's proprietary bipolar technology. They anticipate that this should deliver advantages in volume, weight, production cost and power presumably when their Florida manufacturing plant in Gainesville kicks in.

The need and demand for better rechargeable batteries is clear. The technology though has yet to catch up.