The invention concerns a method (200) and a system (100) for charging a battery (112). The method includes the steps of determining (214) a charge termination point for the battery, in which the charge termination point produces a charge on the battery that is less than an initial maximum charging capacity of the battery, and charging (224) the battery using the charge termination point for at least a portion of the charge cycles of the battery. The method reduces at least in part the variation of battery capacity over the cycle life of the battery.