2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry: Lithium-Ion Batteries

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to three scientists, John B. Goodenough of the University of Texas, M. Stanley Whittingham of the University of Binghamton, and Akira Yoshino of the University of Meijo, for their efforts in developing lithium-ion batteries. The three scientists will share the cash prize equally.

Goodenough (97-years-old) also put his stamp on the history of Nobel Prizes, as the oldest laureate in any Nobel category. It must have been a sweet coincidence for him to receive the prestigious Copley Award of the Royal Society of London on the same day, for his contributions to the scientific world.

Lithium-ion batteries have long been seen worthy of a Nobel Prize as an irreplaceable element of today’s world of technology. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences mentioned that lithium-ion batteries provided one of the greatest benefits to humanity by laying the foundations of a wireless society that does not depend on fossil fuels.

Before lithium-ion batteries, rechargeable batteries were remarkably large and quite inefficient. Their ability to store energy from renewable sources like the sun and the wind is also a ground-breaking feature in terms of sustainable energy consumption.

Goodenough says, “At the time we developed the battery it was just something to do,” and adds, “I didn’t know what electrical engineers would do with the battery. I really didn’t anticipate cellphones, camcorders and everything else.”

This year’s prize to lithium-ion batteries did not come as a surprise to other scientists, as it symbolizes the appreciation of a discovery that has become such an integral part of modern life. The fact that there has not been a better battery technology for almost 30 years to replace lithium-ion batteries underlines the importance of this discovery.

When researchers began working almost 40 years ago, the world was on the verge of both an energy crisis and an environmental crisis. Starting with the end of the 19th century, the batteries found in the first cars and other devices were very inefficient -and heavy. Research hit a dead-end at that point, and so petroleum became the Earth’s major energy source. In the 1960s, the dangers of being so dependent on petroleum began to unfold. In addition to air pollution and other environmental problems, serious social and economic problems emerged due to oil shortages. Thus, the infrastructure that started a search for new ways to store energy was now ready.

Scientists turned their eyes to lithium, the lightest element in the periodic table, for this purpose. However, using this readily reacting element in the batteries required taming it first. This is exactly where the real success of award winners lie.

The first lithium battery developed by Stanley Whittingham used lithium metal in the anode, and lithium ions embedded in titanium disulphide in the cathode. However, because of the explosion risk while charging, aluminium was added to the lithium metal in the anode.

Goodenough replaced the titanium disulphide in the cathode with cobalt oxide, thus doubling the amount of voltage being generated.

Yoshino used the cathode developed by Goodenough to make the first commercial lithium-ion battery in 1985. The anode contained lithium ions and electrons carried by a material called petroleum coke. This made the battery much safer. Small and lightweight batteries, which can be recharged over and over, were now being produced on a commercial scale and became the backbone of modern technology.

Professor Dr. Dame Carol Robinson of the Royal Chemical Society emphasizes that lithium is not an endless source either, and that scientists from all over the world continue to work on the infrastructure prepared by these brilliant chemists.