Three scientists win Nobel Chemistry prize for lithium-ion battery

The jury said the development of the lithium-ion batteries has ‘revolutionised our lives’

It is today used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles, and makes possible a fossil fuel-free society, they said

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Dr Akira Yoshino holds up a couple of lithium ion batteries. File photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Published: 6:44pm, 9 Oct 2019Updated: 9:21pm, 9 Oct 2019

Three researchers on Wednesday won the 2019 Nobel Chemistry Prize for the development of lithium-ion batteries, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

German-born John Goodenough – who at 97 is the oldest person to be awarded a Nobel Prize – Britain’s Stanley Whittingham, and Japan’s Akira Yoshino will share the prize sum of nine million Swedish kronor (US$914,000) equally.

“This lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery is now used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles … (and) can also store significant amounts of energy from solar and wind power, making possible a fossil fuel-free society,” the jury said.

“Lithium batteries have revolutionised our lives since they first entered the market in 1991,” it said, adding they were “of the greatest benefit to humankind”.

The winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry were announced on Wednesday in Sweden. Photo: TT via AP

Whittingham developed the first functional lithium battery in the early 1970s. Goodenough doubled the battery’s potential in the following decade and Yoshino eliminated pure lithium from the battery, making it much safer to use.

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