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As a bonus, the Sonata battery can be charged to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes. Conventional notebook batteries take one to two hours to get to 90 percent capacity.

"We picked 30 minutes and drove development to that," Lampe-Onnerud said.

The company is part of a wave of battery start-ups that have emerged in the past few years. Most got started initially to improve the runtime on notebooks or power tools. A raft of explosions and recalls, however, have also pushed safety to the forefront.

The popularity of hybrid and electric cars has also juiced the market. Last week, A123 Systems, which makes lithium ion batteries for plug-in hybrid cars, announced it had raised $40 million more in venture capital funds.