A charger for impulsed charging of a battery includes first and second charging contacts configured to receive a battery to be charged, a DC power input having first and second terminals, and an inductor having first and second ends. The first end is selectively conductively connectable to the first terminal and the second charging contact. The second end is selectively conductively connectable to the first charging contact and the second terminal. A switch is between the second end and the second terminal such that with the switch in a first configuration, the inductor is connected across the DC power input to enable magnetic energization of the inductor, and in a second configuration, the inductor is disconnected from the DC power input and connected across the charging contacts to enable magnetic energy in the inductor to discharge to the battery. The switch is alternated between configurations during charging of the battery.