The best replacement for nicad is lithium.

The best alternatives to nicad are rated as following:
★★★★★  lithium
★★★★  nimh
★★★★  nimh batteries
★★★  lithium ion
★★  lead acid
★★  lithium batteries
★  nickel metal hydride
★  nmh
★  lipo
★  nihm
★  lithium-ion
  lithium power tools
  lithium drill
  lithium ion for drills
  lithium drills
  li ion
  liion
  nimh battery
  nimh charging
  li-ion
  ni mh
  lithium ion battery
  vrla
  ni cd
  alkaline batteries
  metal hydride
  lithium ion batteries
  mimh

Your alternative for nicad is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about nicad, one probably shouldn't forget about nimh batteries.

Other search terms related to nicad and their ratings are:
★★★★★ nimh batteries
You have in mind a companion for nicad and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of nicad in all years. Click on graph for more.
nicad
lithium
nimh