2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Lithium-Ion Battery Innovators
Three scientists receive the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their crucial roles in developing the lithium-ion battery. Their groundbreaking work paves the way for today's wireless and fossil-fuel-free society.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries. This recognition highlights a technological breakthrough that fundamentally transforms global energy storage and powers the modern wireless world.
The foundation of this technology starts in the 1970s when Whittingham creates the first lithium battery utilizing a titanium disulfide cathode. Goodenough later boosts the battery's potential significantly in the 1980s by replacing the cathode material with cobalt oxide, which ultimately makes the creation of much more powerful batteries possible.
Yoshino builds upon these earlier discoveries in 1985 by creating the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery, replacing reactive lithium metal with petroleum coke at the anode to create a safe, lightweight, and durable power source. This final innovation leads directly to the widespread adoption of the technology in portable electronics and electric vehicles today.