A factory making lithium-ion batteries for hybrid- drive cars opened in Germany on September 24, with owner Continental saying it was the first in the world to mass-produce the storage cells. Smaller lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries for laptop computers and other uses are common round the globe, but most fuel- saving hybrid cars use an older technology, nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Continental’s factory in Nuremberg will make batteries weighing 25 kilogrammes and allow electric motors in cars to supplement the output of combustion engines by up to 19 kilowatts of power.