The bipolar nickel metal hydride batteries were fabricated with a novel anodic additive of nanometer copper oxide. Cycle voltammetry indicated that the nanometer copper oxide in the anode electrode was reduced to copper in the first charge, and SEM and EDS proved the sphere copper particles deposited on the alloy surface and stably existed in the next cycles. EIS results revealed the lower contact resistance and charge transfer resistance of the nanomaterial added anode electrode. Moreover, the bipolar battery with the nanometer additive displayed excellent electric performance and increased specific energy and power in electrochemical tests, which made it better meet the requirement of power sources for electric and hybrid vehicles. The present work has provided a novel additive of the anode electrode to effectively improve the performance of the bipolar Ni/MH batteries. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.