The 2004 Meeting of the International Battery Association (IBA) was held in Graz (Austria) from April 18 to 22 in the Great Hall of the University of Technology. Battery and also fuel cell and supercapacitor materials were in the focus of attention, the Extended Abstracts booklet (J.O. Besenhard, K.-C. Möller, M. Winter (Eds.), ISBN 3-200-00115-1) is entitled Battery and Fuel Cell Materials. Forty-nine Invited Lectures and 61 Posters were presented during the meeting which was attended by more than 140 technical participants, ca. 65 of them from industry. The participation of students, ca. 25, was agreeably high and the various social events offered ample opportunities to combine science and business with some pleasure. The Scientific program was organized in sessions on:•Li-batteries: cathodes•Li-batteries: anodes•Li-batteries: electrode/electrolyte interphase, electrolytes, safety•Analytical methods•Supercapacitors•Aqueous battery systems and fuel cells Li-batteries: cathodes Li-batteries: anodes Li-batteries: electrode/electrolyte interphase, electrolytes, safety Analytical methods Supercapacitors Aqueous battery systems and fuel cells The sequence of the 33 papers in this special issue of the Journal of Power Sources is, however, adjusted somewhat in order to comply with the normal journal plan. On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the members of the International Scientific Committee, the authors and presenters, the session chairpersons and last, but not least, the audience who contributed a great deal to the stimulating atmosphere of the meeting. Finally, the support of the sponsors and exhibitors is gratefully acknowledged, they helped us to provide some comforts of life.