M2E Power has reportedly received a total of $8 million in funding from a group of venture capital outlets including: OVP Venture Partners, Highway 12 Ventures, @Ventures, the CMGI Inc. (NASDAQ: CMGID) clean technology venture unit, and various angel investors. The first round capital funding, it is said, is to be put to work developing "no battery" power sources in mobile devices for military applications with the long-term focus being on civilian applications such as for iPods, cell phones and cameras.

Business Wire reports that M2E, in partnership with General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD), has filed six patents on technology exploiting the Faraday Principle, which involves creating electricity by passing magnets through coils. The reader may wish to note that his principle of electromagnetic induction was proven viable in 1831. Rob Day, principal at @Ventures stated, "They've reached the stage where they've proven this really does work. Prototypes are in actual D-cell or A-cell batteries." You may read about some of the details at AOL Money and Finance.

Venture capital is flowing, engineers are chomping at the bit and layman sources claim that mechanical components of the Chevy Volt are already being road tested on the streets of Detroit. General Motors (NYSE: GM) is not letting anything get in the way of its plans to place a successful electric car on the streets of America and the world by 2010. A report by RedHerring outlines the broad and powerful collection of top tier companies which are coming together to help GM bring its mission to fruition.

Two new research projects targeted towards electric car development were recently announced by General Electric (NYSE: GE) and are specifically geared towards the needs of the Chevy Volt. GE has been asked to design high density electric capacitors and hybrid drive train components in pursuit of our first generation of truly plug-in electric cars. It would seem that GM, GE and the Department of Energy are not willing to settle for an automobile with simple hybrid status. The goal would appear to be full blown electric automobiles at a price within reach of the public. Once the car is built, add the current advances in solar technology and you'll have an automobile that can be charged from a solar powered battery array at home.

Just when you thought the exploding lithium-ion battery problem was over, Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW) has thrown its laptop into the ring.

Gateway announced yesterday that it is voluntarily recalling around 14,000 Samsung-made laptop battery packs that were sold for three months in 2003. The problem, according to Gateway, is that the lithium-ion battery packs can overheat, potentially causing a fire.

That's hot.

Over 10 million lithium-ion batteries have been recalled worldwide since 2006. The recall has hit computer companies blindly, including Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE), Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Lenovo Group (OTC: LNVGY), and Toshiba Corp (OTC: TOSBF). Now Gateway.

Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) is boasting advances in lithium ion battery technology that is enabling automakers worldwide to successfully create and sustain the new breed of high-efficiency automobiles. Remember, these new hybrids and plug-ins are useless without adequate and dependable, long-life power sources to support them. Since January 2006, Johnson Controls has sought to make lithium ion batteries the chosen power pack for future energy efficient vehicles. I'm pleased to report that they have met with admirable success.

Earlier this month, Johnson Controls accepted a development contract with General Motors to develop and test lithium ion batteries for use in GM's Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid SUV. Concentrated development efforts begun in January 2006 by Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Systems (JCS) have come to the point where JCS was able to install and display a fully integrated lithium ion battery system in a prototype hybrid-electric SUV at the 2007 North American International Auto Show.

Alan Mumby, president and general manager of Johnson Controls hybrid battery business, states: "We are thrilled to be a key player in enabling tomorrow's green technologies". The JCS lithium ion battery laboratory, situated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the only dedicated facility in the world focused exclusively on developing lithium ion technology for use in hybrid vehicles.

At least partial funding of the JCS lithium ion battery development project has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy in furtherance of the Freedom CAR and Fuel Partnership project. The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) is also a driving force in this effort. USCAR is a development and research effort operating with the combined forces of Americas big three automakers. This all speaks well of our friends in American auto manufacturing. Breathe easy America, they're working on it.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. Vote for Michael Dell's fall from grace or see other nominees.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) has had a rocky year. And when Dell has a bad year, you can be sure Michael Dell, its founder, chairman and biggest shareholder, has had a rocky year as well.

Last summer Dell (the company and the man, no doubt) struggled with an embarrassing problem involving exploding laptop batteries. Ultimately, it had to recall more than 4 million laptops that contained batteries made by Sony Corporation (NASDAQ:SNE).

Aside from that expensive little gaffe -- which plagued other laptop manufacturers as well -- Dell also had to confront weak sales in the U.S. Not only does the company face an ongoing fierce price war (heard about those $99 laptops at Wal-Mart, anyone?), but arch rival Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) has been coming on strong. In October, Dell lost its rank as the No. 1 U.S. PC maker to HP.

The company has also been under Securities and Exchange Commission investigation for its accounting and in mid-November had to announce an earnings delay, which pummeled the shares.

Things had been going well for Sony's shareholders after the appointment of Howard Stringer as the new CEO. But, then things started to fall apart, again.

Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) makes the batteries for the laptops from companies like Dell, which as you know are being recalled due to overheating and fires. Sony is also being damaged by concerned that its new PlayStation 3 will launch late. To complicate the competitive landscape, Microsoft has been updating its XBox gaming system and upping its marketing spending. Sony's shares have dropped from about $53 in late April to $39 yesterday.

Under Mr. Stringer it would appear that little has improved, despite the initial optimism of his appointment. The recent bad news could also hurt the company financially, with the battery recall cost hitting as much as $500 million.

Sony is not longer viewed as the engineering powerhouse it once was, introducing innovative products virtually every year. That mantle seems to have passed to Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

With Sony on a spiral down, perhaps Apple will learn something about the road ahead.

Douglas McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Not too long ago Apple Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced a recall of Powerbook and iBook batteries. The laptops were fairly new, and the cost of replacing so many batteries had some pundits wondering if that would negatively hit Apple's stock price. The story spread throughout a number of news venues as indications of stormy waters ahead for Apple.

But the problem was with Sony-made battery packs. Apple's quality control just happened to be the first to pick up on the problem, and the first to suffer the bad news.

Now the issue is spreading throughout the laptop manufacturers. Today Lenovo announced that it was recalling 357,000 laptops batteries worldwide that posed a fire hazard to customers. These are batteries in both IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad and T series laptops sold between Feburary 2005 and September 2006.

Dell also recalled batteries at the same time as Apple did, with cost estimates for the exploding battery replacement swap being in the area of a quarter of a billion dollars. Toshiba is now also starting to exchange Sony batteries.

No doubt the greatest impact will be on Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and its close relationship with these major computer manufacturers. Though Sony produces a massive product line, it will have to work hard to mend fences. And also hope that no one catches fires and sues them.

Tobias Buckell is an author, freelancer, and professional blogger.

In a follow up to the developing story of battery recalls by Apple Computer Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Dell Inc(NASDAQ:DELL), the first report of an Apple laptop catching fire in Japan was just reported Tuesday.

Japanese authorities have ordered Apple to launch an investigation and report its findings back within a one week. Japanese authorities have asked Dell and Sony to do the same.

Thus far in the saga of battery recalls, Apple has started the recall of 1.8 million batteries and Dell has initiated a recall of 4.1 million batteries. Both recalls are linked to lithium-ion batteries made by Sony Energy Devices Corp., a subsidiary of Sony Corp.

Apple has received nine reports of battery fires in the US, with two of the reports involving users suffering minor burns. The recent case in Japan also involved the user suffering minor burns.

This is certainly becoming more pandemic, as the cases are no longer isolated to the US markets.

This does not bode well for Sony, which is betting heavily on the successful launches of two core pieces to its medium term strategy -- that of its PS3 multimedia unit and Blu-Ray standard. Apple and Dell are two principal backers of Blu-Ray.

How many reports of overheating lithium laptop batteries must we hear before airport security agents start cracking down on my Dell Inspiron or your Apple MacBook? Sure, the damage intended by terrorists from a seemingly innocuous-looking bottle of liquid would be terrible. But today's reports of overheating -- and in some cases, spontaneously combusting -- laptop batteries brought the considerable specter of an exploding laptop at 30,000 feet.

"Most of the incidents reported to the CPSC occurred around the home, but transportation-safety officials have become increasingly concerned about the threat of a laptop causing a catastrophic fire aboard a commercial jetliner," said the AP version of the report. The New York Times article brought up a fire in the overhead bin of a Lufthansa jet while on the runway in Chicago (no one has confirmed whether or not this battery was housed in a Dell laptop).

With Apple recalling MacBooks because of overheating in June, I have to wonder: how is it that shampoo is verboten, but a potentially flammable laptop can proceed on the plane, to huddle on the floor with all the other laptops, cell phones, Blackberries and illiquid snacks? Investors' minds clearly weren't going where mine is, with Dell down 1.41% in after-hours trading, Apple up a bit, and after-hours quotes unavailable for American Airlines and Delta.

In what will be the largest electronics-related recall ever conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Dell is preparing tonight to initiate a recall on 4.1 million laptop batteries. This comes as the world's largest PC maker has been facing stiffer competition to its core PC and server businesses, as well as investor concern.

The recall stems from at least six reported incidents of Dell laptops catching on fire seemingly spontaneously. There have been various photos and stories circulating since mid-June and a web search should turn up various hits.

Most all major PC makers have suffered issues with laptop batteries requiring a recall, but to put in perspective the magnitude of the recall, the last two battery recalls Dell has had to make were 22,000 in December of 2005 and 284,000 in May of 2001. Looking at its competitors, Apple's last two battery recalls were 128,000 and 28,000 in May of 2005 and August of 2004, respectively. Earlier this year HP recalled about 15,700 batteries and in October 2004 had a recall of 135,000 batteries.

So who is the culprit here?