Less than an inch thick, the new 17-incher has a built-in battery — making the energy-storage design more like the MacBook Air, iPods and iPhone than that of the smaller MacBook Pros. Apple announced today that the new lithium-polymer battery will run for up to eight hours on a single charge. The company says it will retain at least 80 percent of that capacity for up to 1,000 recharge cycles, compared with only 300 recharges for the 13- and 15-inch models’ removable lithium-ion batteries. That longer life comes in part from an adaptive charging mechanism — an embedded chip that monitors charge level, temperature, and helps manage the charging current. Like the other MacBooks, the new Pro has a recyclable aluminum body and contains no brominated flame retardants.

So, who will supply this super battery? There was a rumor that silver-zinc battery startup ZPower had nabbed the deal. But, unfortunately for ZPower, Apple has decided to go with lithium-polymer batteries; ZPower confirmed with us today that it is not working on this type of battery.

Other possibilities could be a major manufacturers, like Toshiba, which has been increasing its efforts for cutting edge lithium ion battery technology. Sanyo and Panasonic are joining up to become a lithium-ion battery powerhouse, as well.

If it is a startup, the deal is a major win for a small firm. Boston Power makes a next-gen lithium-ion battery and signed a deal with HP last month. Like the battery promised for the new MacBook Pro, Boston Power’s “Sonata” batteries are said to operate at 80 percent capacity for at least three years. But Boston’s battery runs closer to four hours per charge, so the design would have to be tweaked considerably. Startup Actacell is working on next-generation lithium-ion technology, and it’s backed by several venture firms and Google.org. But, so far, Actacell has focused on high-power batteries for electric vehicles. Startup Mobius Power is also working on lithium-ion batteries that it says can be used for notebooks.

Apple’s wording about its battery technology largely credits Apple engineers with improving the battery technology, so it’s possible that Apple did a lot of the work in-house. Or perhaps the company is just blanketing the Apple brand over another company’s innovation.

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ZPower Silver-Zinc Batteries to Appear in Laptops Next Year: Rechargeable battery developer ZPower says a leading laptop manufacturer plans to launch the first computer designed to accept silver-zinc batteries in mid-2009. — NYT’s Green Inc.

Truck Sales Most Resilient for GM, Ford: Ford has been heavily advertising its trucks while touting plans for a more fuel-efficient fleet to Congress. What gives? Trucks still sell. — WSJ’s Environmental Capital

Seven Injured in Suntech Accident: Solar-cell maker Suntech Power Holdings announced yesterday that seven employees were injured at its Wuxi, China plant last Friday after a piece of equipment used for laminating modules malfunctioned. — Press Release

ACAL Energy Raises $4.9M: Fuel cell company ACAL Energy has closed a $4.9 million fundraising round led by by CT Investment Partners. The funds will help the company continue its development of fuel cell systems with low-cost liquid catalysts. — Green Car Congress

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• The fourth quarter of 2012 in cleantech
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• The next generation of battery technology