Electric battery common fuels such as gasoline. In automobiles, this is somewhat offset by the higher efficiency of electric motors in converting chemical energy to mechanical work, compared to combustion engines. The usage of "battery" to describe a group of electrical devices dates to Benjamin Franklin, who in 1748 described multiple Leyden jars by analogy to a battery of cannon (Benjamin Franklin borrowed the term "battery" from the military, which refers to weapons functioning together). Italian physicist Alessandro Volta built and described the first electrochemical battery, the voltaic pile, in 1800. This was a stack of copper and zinc plates, separated by
Electric vehicle battery battery life. Since commercially available ultracapacitors have a low specific energy no production electric cars use ultracapacitors exclusively. But using an Electric car with both Battery and ultracapacitor can reduce the limitations of both. As U.S. President Barack Obama announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that would receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.