Abstract: A battery cartridge comprising a housing and one or more primary (nonrechargeable) cells therein. The cell can be a single primary cylindrical cell, desirably a primary lithium cell having a voltage of about 3.0 volts. Alternatively, there can be a pair or plurality of such cells electrically connected in parallel within the cartridge housing. The cartridge housing of the invention has an elongated body with an elongated opening in its surface of sufficient size to allow insertion of one or more cylindrical primary cells therein. The housing can be provided with a disk partition which divides the housing interior into two or more chambers, one for each cell. The cartridge can have overall dimensions similar to that of lithium ion or other rechargeable cartridges used to power small size camcorders or digital cameras. Thus, the battery cartridge of the invention has particular utility as a replacement for rechargeable cartridges for such devices.