New type of battery pushed for hybrid cars

Executives with Firefly Energy Inc., a battery developer in Peoria, Ill., came to Detroit on Friday pitching what they said was a smaller, safer and less expensive battery than those now used in hybrid electric vehicles.

Firefly claims the battery is 70 percent lighter, recharges seven times faster and lasts two times longer than conventional lead acid batteries and that it is safer and costs less than today’s hybrid electric batteries.