NOVELTY - A battery (10) used as structural element in a device in which battery is incorporated, comprises anode (18); cathode (12); and solid electrolyte (20), where combined anode, cathode and solid electrolyte forms a rigid unit and the rigid unit that consists of anode, cathode, and solid electrolyte collectively possesses a compressive stiffness of at least 10 MPa. The solid electrolyte has stiffness of at least 1 MPa. One of anode and cathode has stiffness of at least 1 MPa. The solid electrolyte has ionic conductivity of at least 10-9 S/cm. The solid electrolyte includes a polymer.    USE - As battery used as a structural element in a device in which the battery is incorporated (claimed); as structural component of article of manufacture; as electrochemical device operated to store and release electrical energy; as power source in a wide range of consumer, industrial and military applications; as panels, columns, beams, pylons, and other structural elements of the articles in which they are incorporated; in other devices such as cellular telephones, other communications equipment, computers, and specialized electronic devices and systems; and as circuit boards, housings, casings, and protective members.    ADVANTAGE - The combined anode, cathode and solid electrolyte collectively possesses a compressive stiffness of at least 10 (preferably at least 100) MPa or 50 MPa to 100 GPa. The combined anode, cathode and solid electrolyte possess failure strength of at least 1 MPa (preferably at least 10 MPa) or 1 MPa to 10 GPa. The battery has an energy density of at least 0.1 J/cc. The electrolyte has good ionic conductivity and good mechanical properties. The batteries have good power levels and energy densities. The batteries include components which themselves are rigid and strong; hence the batteries can function as panels, columns, beams, pylons, and other such structural elements of the articles in which they are incorporated. Since the batteries essentially replace inert, non-power-generating structural elements with power-generating structures, their weight and/or size burden on systems in which they are incorporated is very low. The portions of the air frame of an unmanned aerial vehicle may be fabricated from structural batteries. Hence, the overall weight of the vehicle is reduced and/or the amount of electrical power carried by the vehicle is increased. The battery includes active components having sufficient strength and rigidity thereby allowing these batteries to function as structural elements in various constructions and devices.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - A battery (10) used as a structural element in a device in which the battery is incorporated, comprises an anode (18); a cathode (12); and a solid electrolyte (20), where the combined anode, cathode and solid electrolyte forms a rigid unit and the rigid unit that consists of the anode, the cathode, and the solid electrolyte collectively possesses a compressive stiffness of at least 10 MPa. The solid electrolyte has a stiffness of at least 1 MPa. One of the anode and the cathode has a stiffness of at least 1 MPa. The solid electrolyte has an ionic conductivity of at least 10-9 S/cm. The solid electrolyte includes a polymer.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows cross-sectional view of structural battery.    Battery (10)    Cathode (12)    Rigid current collector (14)    Lithium donor material/lithium ion source (16)    Carbon fabric anode (18)    Electrolyte (20)    Body of glass fiber material (22)    Leads (24, 26)