Rather than "force feeding" a battery, as has been the case with battery-charging technology in the past, a novel charging technology under development at Gem Power enables the battery, itself, to control how it is to be charged. According to John James, president of Gem Power, its battery-charging technology checks the battery every two seconds. So, in effect, it is the battery that controls the charger—rather than vice-versa. Most chargers in the past have employed pre-assigned algorithms and scenarios, which anticipated the charge that the battery would need—totally irrespective of the current state of the battery.

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Instead, Gem Power employs a pulse-charging algorithm that applies a waveform that comprises this sequence: 'charge,' 'rest,' 'quick discharge'. The charge lasts about a second, whereas the discharge is in milliseconds. The charger is then able to analyze the battery's response to this stimuli and, if necessary, alter the charging profile instantaneously, determining whether to continue the charge, modify the charge or stop the charge.

The benefit of this new technology is that the battery is neither overcharged, nor undercharged. By charging a battery correctly every time, charge abuse, which dramatically shortens the life of a battery—in some cases, by a quarter or a half of its life—is avoided.

"If you look at the lead-acid automotive car battery of today, its design life is eight to 10 years," says James. "However, with our charging technology, we expect actual life to extend to six, maybe eight years—which is to say the battery will approach its design life." The same is expected for nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries that are employed in handheld radios. In addition, with Gem Power's new technology, charging is concluded up to twice as fast as with so-called "rapid chargers."

The company is now soliciting bids for production of its charger units, to identify manufacturing sources and partners to begin a commercialization phase of the new chargers.