I'm not an expert, but I was told that there is a finite number of cycles - either allowed, or by natural decay. Certainly, there was quite a bit of electronics in my old Vaio battery.
I have complained to Sony about the speed at which my new Vaio discharges when not in use. I also mentioned it didn't do it if the battery was removed. They sent me a new battery. Doh
(about 4 days to become useless.)
Since something the price of an ink cartridge can be chipped to tell the system what's going on, I'm pretty sure a battery will be.
A pal of mine removes his battery when at home...which is most of the time. I've said what I thought of that, not least of all the loss of a Backup PS.