A new, glassy, solid electrolyte system CdI2-Ag2O-V2O5-B2O3 has been synthesized and the composition with high ionic conductivity is used as an electrolyte in a solid-state cell. The silver ion transport number of this electrolyte is nearly unity. The thermoelectric power varies inversely with absolute temperature. The discharge and current-voltage characteristics are examined for different negative and positive electrodes to evaluate the applicability of these cells as power sources for low-energy applications. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.