Electric power storage and generation is important to advanced civilisations.
Typical power cell sizes range from Tiny (T)(A button- or coin-sized) to Very Large (VL)(A toolbox-sized battery). Their capacity varies by technology.
| size | Price | wt | Base energy | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny (T). | 0.25 | 0.01 | 1 | A button- or coin-sized battery for watches, mini-flashlights, hearing aids, laser sights, tiny bugs, etc. |
| Extra-Small (XS) | 0.50 | 0.05 | 5 | |
| Small (S) | 1 | 0.15 | 15 | A standard battery for flashlights, portable radios, or cellular phones. Similar to a D-cell or C-cell battery |
| Medium (M) | 5 | 1 | 100 | A common power source for lanterns or squad-level radios. More expensive rechargeable models are used in laptops, video cameras, and the like. |
| Large (L) | 10 | 5 | 500 | A lunchbox-sized battery. rechargeables are found in small vehicles (such as ATVs, motorcycles, and snowmobiles), base-camp radios, and the like. |
| Very Large (VL) | 20 | 25 | 2500 | A toolbox-sized battery found in cars, trucks, golf carts, etc. It can power radios or other heavy duty electronics for extended periods. A bank of these is often used for external power. |
Base energy*the tech multiplier is the total energy in watt hours.
Tech multiplier:
| Technology | Energy | Availability | Recharge | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead Acid | 0.4 | Mechanized age | yes | Most common technology for uses where mass does not matter. Cannot be smaller than Medium size |
| Zinc-carbon | 0.4 | Mechanized age | no | No longer commonly used |
| Zinc-air | 4 | Nuclear age | no | Most common non rechargeable battery in use. Requires air to function. |
| Nickel-cadmium | 0.3 | Nuclear age | yes | Still in fairly common use in older applications, used in places where lead acid was too large |
| Lithium-carbon monofluoride | 7 | Late Nuclear age | no | toxic, military use only |
| Lithium cobalt oxide | 2 | Early information age | yes | The most commonly used rechargeable cell in new electronics. |
| Lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxides | 2.2 | Information age | yes | Available as experimental, *5 cost |
| Lithium Thionyl Chloride | 3.6 | Microtech age | yes | Not available, but possible to do in a laboratory, but most likely few cycles only in such case. Obsolete in Federation. |
| Micro fuel cell | 7 | Late Microtech age | yes | Not available, commonly used in cheap gadgets in the Federation. |
| Early Superconductor loops | 14 | Robotic age | Yes | Not available,Most civilian everyday gear in Federation. |
| Strained bond | 28 | Robotic age | No | Not available,Obsolete military use in the Federation, highly volatile. |
| Superconductor loops | 28 | Late Robotic age | Yes | Not available,Most Most survival/military/high end electronics gear in Federation. Was about 4 times the price of Early Superconductor loops. |
| Late Superconductor loops | 56 | Exotic matter age | Yes | Not available, Very advanced gear in Federation. Was about 20 times the price of Early Superconductor loops. |
| Early Matter Phase shift | 150 | Late Exotic matter age | Yes | Not available, Was possible to do in laboratories in the Federation. |
| Matter Phase shift | 2 000? | Age of Miracles | Yes | Not available, Theoretical development of the Early Matter Phase shift, the upper limits according to the theory. |
| Matter Destruction | 60 000? | Age of Miracles | No | Not available, Theoretically possible in the Federation, but not known to have been made. Quite large minimum size likely |