3 Win Nobel Prize In Chemistry For Developing Lithium-Ion Batteries

The 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.

Dr Goodenough at 97 is the oldest person ever to receive a Nobel prize.

“Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised our lives and are used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles. Through their work, this year’s Chemistry Laureates have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society”, the Nobel Committee said.

Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised our lives and are used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles. Through their work, this year’s Chemistry Laureates have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/KXVfXlUT4B

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019

In the early 1970s, Stanley Whittingham, awarded this year’s Chemistry Prize, used lithium’s enormous drive to release its outer electron when he developed the first functional lithium battery.

2019 Chemistry Laureate John Goodenough doubled the lithium battery’s potential, creating the right conditions for a vastly more powerful and useful battery.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/ygivR7hySG

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019

The lithium-ion battery is a lightweight, rechargeable and powerful battery that is used in everything from mobile phones to laptops to electric cars.

The trio will share the prize money of nine million kronor (£738,000) equally and the award will be presented at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded 110 times to 180 individuals between 1901 and 2018.

This year’s #NobelPrize laureate Akira Yoshino succeeded in eliminating pure lithium from the battery, instead basing it wholly on lithium ions, which are safer than pure lithium. This made the battery workable in practice. pic.twitter.com/9tqSh5zTsS

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019