NOVELTY - A composite lithium ion battery electrode comprises an active composite material dispersed in a conductive porous matrix formed over a current collector, the active composite material comprises active material dispersed on or in a conductive skeleton structure, and the active material selected from fine particles having a particle size less than approximately 10 microns.    USE - The composite lithium ion battery electrode is useful for lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles and portable electronic devices such as mobile telephones and laptop computers.    ADVANTAGE - Improved lithium ion battery electrodes that can be easily and inexpensively mass-produced for large scale use in electric vehicles and portable electronic devices are provided.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - A composite lithium ion battery electrode comprises an active composite material dispersed in a conductive porous matrix formed over a current collector, the active composite material comprises active material dispersed on or in a conductive skeleton structure, the active material selected from fine particles having a particle size less than approximately 10 microns and including at least one material selected from either a metal-based material including one or more of tin (Sn), aluminum (Al), silicon (Si), titanium (Ti) or a carbon-based material including one or more of graphite, carbon fiber, carbon nanotube (CNT) or combinations of the metal-based material and the carbon based material, and the conductive skeleton includes at least a conductive polymer or a conductive filament, the active material being dispersed on the conductive skeleton through an in situ polymerization process or a chemical grafting process; the conductive porous matrix including a conductive polymeric binder and lithium ion diffusion channels created by a pore-forming agent during mixture of the active composite material in the conductive porous matrix, the conductive porous matrix further including particulate conductive particles. INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are:    (1) a method of making the composite lithium ion battery electrode in which the metal-based active material is formed by precipitating one or more of Sn, Al, Si, or Ti from a precursor solution of Sn, Al, Si, or Ti precursor salts or mixtures thereof, the precursor solutions being mixed with additives selected from one or more of sulfonates, imines, or nitrides, the precipitates being dehydrated to obtain a precipitate precursor powder having a particle size on the order of 1-100 microns followed by thermal treatment at a temperature of approximately less than 1000 degrees C in air or an inert environment to produce a reduced/calcined powder of the active material and further grinding or milling or its combination to reduce a particle size of the active material to less than approximately 100 microns; and    (2) a method of making active composite material of the composite lithium ion battery electrode comprising activating a skeleton material including carbon fibers, CNT, or carbon rods with a reagent to form -COOH groups bound to the skeleton material and mixing fine particles of active material with one or more additives to form an activated active material powder followed by mixing the skeleton material with bound -COOH groups in solution with the activated active material powder to chemically bind the active material to the skeleton material; or a method of making active composite material of the composite lithium ion battery electrode comprising mixing fine particles of the active material to a polymerization solution including a conductive polymer to disperse the active material with a porous conductive skeleton; or a method of making the composite lithium ion battery electrode comprising forming the active composite material by dispersing the active material on or in a conductive skeleton and adding the active composite material to a mixture including a conductive polymer, the conductive polymer having been surface-modified to create a binder that will bind with the active material composite to form a conductive polymeric binder, and further including a pore-forming agent selected from a pore-forming material or vesicant material or its combinations and further including conductive particles and applying the mixture to the current collector to create a porous conductive matrix with the active composite material and conductive particles dispersed to it.