Japanese consumer electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said on Wednesday that it and chip giant Intel Corp. will jointly develop battery technology efficient enough to keep a notebook PC running all day.
Matsushita, maker of Panasonic brand products, said the partnership would bring together its expertise in producing lithium-ion rechargeable batteries with Intel's power-saving circuit technology.
Intel is the world's largest semiconductor maker and controls 80 percent of the global market for microprocessors, the central chip of personal computers.
Matsushita said its wholly owned unit, Matsushita Battery Industrial, would develop a new lithium-ion battery by next April that can store 30 percent more power and has a lower end-of-discharge voltage than conventional batteries.
A lower end-of-discharge voltage means the battery can be run down to a lower voltage level before it needs to be recharged.
Matsushita said it would work together with Intel to create a battery system that can power a notebook PC for eight hours — a normal workday — without needing to be recharged.
