Conspiracies in the Rechargable Battery Market?

Jason Cain writes "Here's a conspiracy theory from John C. Dvorak about big-time battery makers like Eveready trying to downplay new rechargeable battery technology like NiMH because it would kill their business model. I have NiMH rechargeables for my digital camera, and I can testify that they're great. Why aren't they being promoted more?" I remember there being more of a market for rechargables about 10 years ago, but I rarely hear about them now except when coupled with portable devices like laptops, camcorders and cell phones. Did this market dry up naturally, or was it killed by corporate greed? (More)

After perusing the Dvorak column and some of the informative comments in the talkback section, it turns out that we have had several types of rechargables over the years:

• NiCd (aka NiCaD) - Nickel Cadmium batteries. These batteries suffer from charge memory problems and were discovered to be environmentally unsound due to the fact that both nickel and cadmium are carcinogens.
• LIon - Lithium-Ion batteries. You can find these in most laptops, camcorders and cell phones. Nicer all around batteries, but they are NOT cheap due to the electronics necessary to run them safely.
• NiMH - Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. The newer kids on the block. These seem to be the batteries of the next generation and you'll find a better description of these in the Dvorak article.
• LiS - Lithium-Sulphur batteries. Under development, but looks promising. Check out the Moltech Corporation. You should probably stop by and take a peek at their literature if you want to know more. After further perusal of their site, it looks like Moltech has acquired Eveready's Energizer Power Systems.

Now I can understand why NiCad batteries were discontinued, and LIon is not yet ready for the consumer market, but it sounds like NiMH batteries are, and yet this is the first time I've heard them mentioned. Li-S batteries haven't hit the consumer market yet, but I mention them to underscore the fact that there has been active development of these types of batteries for years, yet they are almost impossible to find in many commercial outlets.

Has the demand for rechargable batteries really been so dismal that they've just about dissapeared from store shelves, or does this conspiracy theory really have weight?

Your thoughts?