PEORIA, IL - A small company in America's Heartland may have a big impact on drivers everywhere.  It's called Firefly Energy and it's working to revolutionize batteries.  Its technology could reduce our reliance on oil and gas. 

Peoria, Illinois is the home of Firefly Energy.  The companys employees are hard at work creating the next generation batteries.  They're designed to run twice as long and hold three times more power than traditional batteries.

So what's the secret?  It starts with foam.  The heart of Firefly batteries is carbon foam.  Traditional batteries are 100-percent lead.  Less lead allows the battery to run longer and is safer for the environment. 

Firefly got its start developing commercial batteries for trucks.  Its new technology allows truckers to use battery power for things like air conditioning and lights.  That saves money on fuel and is good for Mother Earth.  Fireflys goal is to produce 100-percent lead free batteries by 2015.

Nearly 70-percent of the world's lead is used to make batteries.  In the United States nearly 97-percent of those batteries are recycled.  It's one of the most successful recycling programs ever.  For more, click here!