Laptop and mobile phone batteries could see a tenfold boost in performance if a technology breakthrough from scientists in the US comes to fruition.

According to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, replacing conventional battery electrodes with those coated with carbon nanotubes can drastically increase the power to weight ratio compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries.

The scientists say they produced the powerful new electrodes by alternatively dipping a base material in solutions containing carbon nanotubes with positive and negative charges to make a stable film coating.

The result is an electrode that is more porous and contains more oxygen groups, which can store a larger number of lithium ions.

According to the scientists, the energy output for a given weight of this new electrode material was five times greater than for conventional capacitors, and the total power delivery rate was 10 times that of lithium-ion batteries.

In addition to their high power output, the researchers claim the carbon nanotube electrodes were highly stable showing no change in performance over 1,000 charge cycles.

Although carbon nanotube production is currently limited to niche suppliers, several companies are gearing up for mass production of the material.