Amorphous nanosized RuO2 obtained electrochemically as well as by a solution route exhibits a higher potential (580 mV) compared with the bulk crystal value. The results here show that a cell voltage that involves amorphous constituents can be i) reliably studied, ii) quantitatively understood in terms of a loss of long-range order, and iii) be used to achieve a higher potential in Li batteries, in this case more than half a volt.