On the eve of Macworld, the rumors are buzzing that Apple will release a new notebook that features batteries from ZPower, which makes a silver zinc battery. Ross Dueber, CEO of ZPower, declined to comment. ZPower has a deal with a notebook manufacturer, but it's up to the unknown manufacturer to make any comments, he said. (Ross is speaking at CES in Las Vegas on Thursday so we might get more there.) However, looking at all of the circumstances, I believe that the odds are pretty good, around 50 percent. Here's why: 1. ZPower has already said that they have landed a notebook win with a major manufacturers and that the deal will be announced in early 2009. Macworld is this week. 2. Selecting ZPower would allow Apple to claim a first. Right now, notebook makers virtually rely exclusively on lithium ion batteries. ZPower's batteries are based on a silver zinc chemistry. It's been tough to make rechargeable zinc batteries that can last -- Thomas Edison himself worked on the problem -- but both ZPower and competitor PowerGenix, which makes a nickel zinc battery, say they've solved that problem. Zinc batteries are less prone to "thermal runaway reactions." Zinc batteries will also be able to store far more energy than lithium ion cells as time goes on, say advocates. Lithium cells, they argue, have peaked. Zinc potentially could become a really large business for a lot of applications. These wouldn't be the first zinc batteries on the market. PowerGenix started selling some last month. But these would be the first in a notebook. Thus, Apple could hold itself out as an innovator by being the first to come out with a zinc notebook. You can just imagine the obligatory gushing at Macworld now. 3. Love or hate it, Apple is good at harvesting components. The touch pad from Synaptics and the 1.8-inch Toshiba hard drives effectively allowed the company to make the first iPods. No one else really wanted the 1.8-inch drive. With some careful component shopping and good design, Apple was able break into a new category. 4. ZPower (formerly Zinc Matrix Power) has a long history. It got started back in the '90s. Thus, the company can provide a lot of testing materials to notebook makers. 5. ZPower is also heavily associated with Intel. Intel even invested in it. Despite some friction, Apple and the Big I still collaborate. 6. The other new age battery companies I've contacted don't have announcements coming up. I haven't called them all, but some. 7. Some other large notebook makers have already selected their new age battery supplier. Hewlett-Packard, for instance, has said it will offer a lithium-ion battery from Boston Power as an option in some notebooks. Sony and Toshiba, which both make lithium ion batteries, are a little less hot on the new battery category. 8. The zinc batteries will likely come at a premium and Apple has had a knack for getting its fan base to look beyond price points. 9. Tom Krazit, an former colleague at CNET, says it makes sense for Apple to do a new notebook this week. But, again, nothing is guaranteed. Here's a list of other notebook makers that could be interested in zinc batteries: Dell, Acer, Lenovo. And the Macworld coincidence may be getting overplayed. Last April, Dueber said that ZPower's batteries were slated to come out in a thin laptop in August 2008. Didn't happen.