TE 6-A (Battery Rotary Hammer Drill) TE 6-A (Akku-Bohrhammer)

5 min. read, August 2025

Closing in on 40 years of cordless technology

How our batteries have developed through the years

Over the years, Hilti’s cordless systems have quietly powered some of the toughest job sites, evolving with smarter design, longer life, and more muscle under the hood. In this post, we’re taking a walk down memory lane to see how Hilti’s battery technology has grown and how it’s helped keep tools (and tradespeople) going strong.

Do you remember your first Hilti cordless tool? Maybe it was a trusty old TE 6-A that never quit, or were you an "early adopter", starting your cordless journey back in '86?

See if you recognise any of the batteries below.

Eighties & nineties

1986

BP 10

36V / 2Ah
NiCd battery to power our first ever cordless tool, the TE 10 A.

1995

BP 40

24V / 2Ah
First ever D-handle cordless battery for the TE 5 A with integrated dust removal.

1996

SFB 185

12V / 3Ah
Our first ever nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery.

1999

BP 686

36V / 2.4Ah
The battery (and pouch) for the first generation of our iconic TE 6-A.

Jargon buster 🔋

Volts (V)

Volts indicate the voltage, or electrical pressure, of the battery. It tells you how powerful the tool can be, which usually means the tool can handle tougher jobs.

Higher volts = more power

Ampere hours (Ah)

Ah tells you how much charge the battery can store - in other words, how long it can run. It combines current (amps) and time (hours). So a 4.0Ah battery can deliver 4 amps for 1 hour (or 1 amp for 4 hours).

Higher Ah = longer runtime