The most AA batteries held in the hand is 48, achieved by Silvio Sabba (Italy), in Pioltello, Milan, Italy, on 19 March 2012.

This record was broken on the Guinness World Record Challengers site (Challengers’ tag: silvio.sabba): http://challengers.guinnessworldrecords.com/challenges/63-most-aa-batteries-held-in-the-hand