TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRICAL POWER AND ENERGY - Preferred Condition: The microporous membrane is bound to the positive electrode(s) and negative electrode(s) by heat activation of the microporous membrane at 35-125 degreesC and under 0.5-100 psi. A temperature of at least 60, preferably 80-100 degreesC, triggers a thermal shutdown of the battery. The battery is hermetically sealed. The battery case is heated for 5-120 minutes.Preferred Property: The microporous membrane has a porosity of 25-75%. The battery has a constant battery impedance of at most 500 charge-discharge cycles.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Component: The positive electrode is a lithium-ion positive electrode. The negative electrode is a lithium-ion negative electrode. The electrolyte is a lithium-ion electrolyte. The lithium-ion electrolyte is a liquid lithium-ion electrolyte or a polymer lithium-ion electrolyte.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - POLYMERS - Preferred Component: The hot-melt adhesive is poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) or poly(ethylene-alkyl acrylate), where alkyl contains 1-5C. The engineering plastics are polysulfone, polycarbonate, and/or poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate). The tackifier is aromatic modified aliphatic hydrocarbon resins, aliphatic resins, hydrogenated cycloaliphatic hydrocarbon resins, rosin resin, polyterpene resin, and/or poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropene).Preferred Composition: The poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate) has 25-90 wt.% vinyl acetate and 10-75 wt.% ethylene. The poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate) comprises styrene:methyl methacrylate ratio of 9:1 to 1:1.Preferred Property: The microporous membrane has a porosity of 25-75%.Preferred Condition: The microporous membrane is bound to the positive electrode(s) and negative electrode(s) by heat activation of the microporous membrane at 35-125 degreesC and under 0.5-100 psi. EXAMPLE - A microporous membrane was sandwiched between positive and negative electrodes, i.e. the battery having a total active area of 11 cm2. The battery was packaged and partially sealed in an aluminum-foil laminated plastic bag. After the battery was fully dried, it was transferred into a dry box under nitrogen and having less than 1 ppm moisture. 0.4 g of 1.2 M electrolyte was injected into the battery, where the electrolyte was prepared by dissolving hexafluorophosphoric acid Li (LiPF6) salt, into a solution of ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate/dimethyl carbonate 2:1:1. The battery was completely sealed, and was heated at 85 degreesC for 30 minutes and then was pressed at 5 psi to bind the microporous membrane to the positive and negative electrodes. After cooling the battery down to room temperature, the battery was subjected to charge and discharge testing. The results showed that the battery had higher discharge rate capability.