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The Valence line of Lithion-Ion batteries is unique in that it uses a Lithiated Metal-Phosphate chemistry rather than the Lithium-Cobalt or Lithium-Manganese-Oxide formulations that are typical in most Lithium-Ion batteries. This type of battery has a slightly lower energy density and provides less voltage than other Lithium-Ion chemistries but that lower capacity comes with quite a few advantages.

First, Lithium-Phosphate batteries can provide more current that other Li-Ion cells, meaning that they can provide more energy in a shorter period of time. Secondly, Li-Phosphate batteries DO NOT EXPLODE or experience the thermal runaway reactions that have resulted in the recall of millions of Li-Ion batteries around the world. Third, Lithium-Phosphate cells weight less than their counterparts and could technically be cheaper in volume once their production ramps.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly in today’s “uberGreen” world — Lithium-Phosphate batteries do not contain the heavy metal toxins that are common in other Li-Ion products This makes them much more environment-friendly than their counterparts. In many ways, Valence has adopted the only truly “green” battery technology.

The battery itself has a 5-light LED indicator on the front panel, which provides a way to quickly check battery capacity while also letting the user know when the unit is being recharged. A small recessed button below the LEDs activates the lights and gives battery status.

The N-Charge can provide 16-24 volts of power through the high-power port and 12 volts through the accessory port. The battery that we reviewed was the VNC-130 which has a 10Ah/130Wh capacity, but there is also a smaller 5Ah/60Wh unit.

Connecting the N-Charge to a laptop requires a specific charging module. Valence sells a wide array of modules for the various makes of laptop. You purchase the module for your laptop and clip it onto the high-voltage port of the battery. The module houses all the circuitry needed to send the proper voltage to the laptop, as well as a “pass-through” design in which the existing power adapter is connected to the module and the module is then connected to the laptop. This system removes the possibility of incorrectly setting voltages or polarity: quite simply, there is no way to incorrectly plug in the battery.

The 130 was easy to setup. We literally had the battery out of the box, connected to the provided module and charging within 30 second. Charge time was relatively short. We were able to charge the battery from total depletion to full in an average time of 96 minutes, with the first charge leaning towards 2 hours and each subsequent charge taking between 75 and 100 minutes.

The notebook modules were easy to install, requiring only a “snap-on” connection to the battery. We quickly moved between two different Dell power modules and an IBM Thinkpad module, as well as using the low voltage accessory port to provide 12v power to several devices simultaneously.

We tested the 130 with a Dell Latitude D410. This ultra-portable notebook has a 12.1” screen, P4m CPU, 2GB of memory and a 7200rpm hard drive. We ran the battery through 100 charge/discharge cycles to get a good feel for how the Valence chemistry would hold up to real-world usage.

Battery performance varied widely depending on the laptop settings. When running the notebook in full power-saving mode (CPU put into lower-power mode, LCD on medium brightness, external DVD-RW disconnected, wireless off) we were able to consistently get a remarkable 12 hours of power from the 130 before the laptop switched to internal battery. With the LCD at maximum brightness, the 802.11b and EVDO wireless enabled, CPU maxed and pegged at 100%, and the docking station with DVD-RW attached, our power life fell to between 4 and 6 hours.

As far as protecting the longevity of the N-Charge when not in use, Valence suggests that the N-Charge be filled to capacity every few months to preserve the Li-Ion chemistry. The cycle life is 600 cycles for 70% of capacity, meaning that you can expect to have 70% of the original capacity of the battery after 600 charges and discharges.

The Valence N-Charge VNC-130 is available online for $290.