The nickel electrodes in Ni–Cd pocket-plate batteries have been cobalt-doped (0.8–5.0 wt.%) either by coprecipitation during Ni(OH)2 fabrication or by addition of cobalt oxide. It was observed that both methods of doping significantly improved the initial performance and performance after accelerated testing. In general, the higher the cobalt content, the higher the degree of material utilisation.