Thomas Edison patented and commercialized the NiFe battery in 1901 and offered them as the energy source for electric vehicles to manufactures such as the Detroit Electric and Baker Electric. Edison claimed the nickel–iron design to be, “far superior to batteries using lead plates and acid” (lead–acid battery).

He developed NiFe to be the battery of choice for electric vehicles; the preferred transportation mode in the early 1900s. Edison’s batteries had a significantly higher energy density than the lead–acid batteries in use at the time, and could be charged in half the time, however they performed poorly at low temperatures and were more expensive. Edison was disappointed that his battery was not adopted for starting internal combustion engines, and that electric vehicles went out of production only a few years after his battery was introduced.

Edison’s batteries were profitably made from about 1903 to 1972 by the Edison Storage Battery Company in East Orange, NJ. The battery was widely used for railroad signaling, fork lift, and standby power applications. Nickel–iron cells were made with capacities from 5 to 1250 Ah.

In 1972 the battery company was sold to the Exide Battery Corporation, which discontinued the product in 1975. Many of the original manufacturers no longer make nickel iron cells, but new companies have started production in several countries including China, Russia and Romania.

In 1995, BeUtilityFree started importing Chinese nickel iron batteries for sale in the US Renewable Energy market. They were followed soon thereafter by Iron Edison, one of the leading distributors today. There are currently two new US manufacturers of nickel iron batteries; one in Montana and one in Florida.