With a technique allowing for large-scale production, which is based on electrochemical etching, silicon microwire anodes for Li ion batteries anodes are produced. The wires exhibit high areal capacity due to their diameters in the micron-range, and high cycling stability due to the formation of a homogeneous solid electrolyte interface around each of them. This study summarizes the importance of the (exact) battery work parameters and their dependence on the wire dimensions. Furthermore, it compares two anode concepts in which the wires can be incorporated. FFT-impedance analysis shows the characteristic resistance changes under specific conditions, which relate directly to the processes in the wires during operation, what helps for their optimization. (C) The Author(s) 2015 Published by ECS. All rights reserved.