To confirm my earlier post that lithium was probably a component of the electrolyte and not truly a controlling element of the electrochemical reaction (which determines voltage), I contacted EverReady's help line. They confirmed that the lithium in their AA batteries was part of an "organic lithium based electrolyte, specifically lithium disulfide". There you have it, it is part of the electrolyte, not electrode, thus the conventional electrodes determine the 1.5 V per cell, and the electrolyte just allows the electrodes to last much longer than conventional (more corrosive) electrolytes before it wears out.
As a side note, I have used the lithium AA's in a scanner I use for my XC vario. Those batteries clearly outlived anything else I have put in the scanner, by an (estimated) 10 x lifetime of an alkaline. Well worth the extra cost.
Keep in mind, these will not be rechargable in the sense that NiCd, NiMH or LiPoly can be recharged to full capacity.
Jim Thomas
