TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ELECTRICAL POWER AND ENERGY - Preferred Method: The step of electrochemical forming is operating the cell from the OCV when the cell is made to LVL of no lower than 0.1 volts, and then increasing a cell voltage to the UVL. Preferred Components: The carbon or graphitic material in the cathode is graphene sheets, graphite worms, exfoliated graphite flakes, expanded graphite, chemically treated graphite with an inter-graphene planar separation no less than 0.4 nm, chemically etched or expanded soft carbon, chemically etched or expanded hard carbon, exfoliated activated carbon, chemically etched or expanded carbon black, chemically expanded multi-walled carbon nanotube and/or chemically expanded carbon nano-fiber. The carbon or graphitic material contains a single-layer sheet or multi-layer platelet of graphene, graphene oxide, graphene fluoride, hydrogenated graphene, nitrogenated graphene, pristine graphene, doped graphene, boron doped graphene, nitrogen doped graphene, chemically treated graphene, reduced graphene oxide and/or functionalized graphene. The first LVL or second LVL is 0.5-4.5 volts, preferably greater than or equal to 1.2 volts. The anode active material has a lithium-storing capacity no less than 400 mAh/g and the anode active material is mixed with a conductive additive and/or a resin binder to form a porous electrode structure, or coated onto a current collector in a coating or thin film form, where the anode active material is not pre-lithiated or pre-lithiated and is lithium-free when the cell is made. The anode active material contains silicon, germanium, tin, or tin oxide. The cathode has a specific surface area greater than 1000 m2/g. The cathode active material has a specific capacity greater than 500 mAh/g. The cathode further contains a conductive filler comprising graphite or carbon particles, carbon black, expanded graphite particles, carbon nanotube, carbon nano-fiber, carbon fiber and/or conductive polymer. The lithium source comprises a lithium chip, lithium alloy chip, lithium foil, lithium alloy foil, lithium powder, lithium alloy powder, surface stabilized lithium particles, a mixture of lithium metal or lithium alloy with a lithium intercalation compound, and/or lithium or lithium alloy film coated on a surface of an anode or cathode active material. The anode active material contains a mixture of a high capacity anode material and a high rate capable anode material, where the high rate capable anode material is nano-scaled particles or filaments of a transition metal oxide, cobalt oxide, manganese(II,III) oxide and/or ferric oxide, and the high capacity anode material is silicon, germanium, tin and/or tin oxide. The anode active material contains a nanomaterial having a dimension of less than 100 nm, consisting of: non-lithiated silicon, germanium and/or tin; non-lithiated alloys or intermetallic compounds of silicon, germanium and/or tin; non-lithiated oxides, carbides, nitrides, sulfides, phosphides, selenides, tellurides, or antimonides of silicon, germanium, tin, antimony, bismuth, aluminum, iron, titanium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, cadmium and/or their composites; or non-lithiated salts or hydroxides of tin. The anode active material is a nanoparticle, nano-disc, nano-platelet, nanowire, nano-rod, nanobelt, nanoscroll, nanotube, nanofilament, nanocoating, or nanofilm. The pre-lithiated anode active material is a nanoparticle, nanodisc, nanoplatelet, nanowire, nano-rod, nanobelt, nanoscroll, nanotube, nanofilament, nanocoating, or nanofilm comprising: a pre-lithiated silicon, germanium, tin, lead, antimony, bismuth, zinc, aluminum, titanium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and/or cadmium; a pre-lithiated alloy or intermetallic compound of silicon, germanium, tin, lead, antimony, bismuth, zinc, aluminum, titanium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and/or cadmium; a pre-lithiated oxide, carbide, nitride, sulfide, phosphide, selenide, telluride, or antimonide of silicon, germanium, tin, lead, antimony, bismuth, zinc, aluminum, titanium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and/or cadmium, or their composite; a pre-lithiated salt or hydroxide of tin; or a pre-lithiated carbon or graphite material, where the anode active material is electrically connected directly to an anode current collector or is connected to an anode current collector through a binder and/or a conductive additive. The pre-lithiated anode active material contains a mixture of a high capacity anode material and a high rate capable anode material, where the high rate capable anode material is nano-scaled particles or filaments of a lithium transition metal oxide, lithiated cobalt oxide, lithiated manganese(II,III) oxide, lithiated ferric oxide and/or lithium titanate, and the high capacity anode material is pre-lithiated silicon, germanium, tin and/or tin oxide. The graphene sheets contain single-layer graphene, graphene oxide, pristine graphene, doped graphene, boron doped graphene, nitrogen doped graphene, chemically treated graphene, reduced graphene oxide and/or functionalized graphene. The anode active material is prelithiated to a specific capacity of no less than 3000 mAh/g based on the anode active material weight. The current collector is an anode current collector and/or cathode current collector that is: a porous, electrically conductive material comprising metal foam, metal web or screen, perforated metal sheet, metal fiber mat, metal nanowire mat, porous conductive polymer film, conductive polymer nanofiber mat or paper, conductive polymer foam, carbon foam, carbon aerogel, carbon xerox gel, graphene foam, graphene oxide foam, reduced graphene oxide foam, carbon fiber paper, graphene paper, graphene oxide paper, reduced graphene oxide paper, carbon nanofiber paper and/or carbon nanotube paper; stain less steel, a surface-passivated metal, or a coated metal. The electrolyte is organic liquid electrolyte, ionic liquid electrolyte, gel electrolyte, polymer electrolyte, or solid electrolyte containing a first amount of lithium ions when the cell is made. The electrolyte contains an ionic liquid containing a first amount of lithium ions when the cell is made. The anode and/or cathode contains less than 1 wt.% oxygen. The cell is subsequently charged to a voltage no higher than the UVL and discharged to a voltage no lower than the LVL. The anode active material contains pre-lithiated silicon, pre-lithiated germanium, pre-lithiated tin, pre-lithiated tin oxide, pre-lithiated magnesium oxide and/or pre-lithiated iron oxide.