Organization and basis of presentation (Narrative) (Details)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("GZ Highpower") [Member]	Feb. 08, 2012 Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("GZ Highpower") [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 08, 2012 Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("GZ Highpower") [Member] CNY	Dec. 31, 2011 Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("GZ Highpower") [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("GZ Highpower") [Member] CNY	Sep. 30, 2012 Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("HZ HTC") [Member]	Mar. 08, 2012 Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("HZ HTC") [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 08, 2012 Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("HZ HTC") [Member] CNY	Sep. 30, 2012 Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd ("SZ Springpower") [Member]	Sep. 14, 2012 Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd ("SZ Springpower") [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd ("SZ Springpower") [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 14, 2012 Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd ("SZ Springpower") [Member] Highpower International, Inc [Member]
Subsidiary or Equity Method Investee [Line Items]
Registered capital				$ 4,762,586	30,000,000	$ 293,574	2,000,000					$ 3,330,000	$ 1,000,000
Attributable equity interest held			60.00%	60.00%	60.00%			100.00%			100.00%			69.97%
Equity interest held by partner				40.00%	40.00%							30.03%
Additional paid-in capital	5,976,696	5,831,237		2,381,293	15,000,000
Investment in wholly owned subsidiary									$ 791,377	5,000,000