John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for “creating a rechargeable world”.
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for "creating a rechargeable world through the development of lithium-ion batteries", the awarding committee stated. "The discovery of the three Nobel laureates has given us access to a true technological revolution: their work has laid the foundations for a future wireless society free of fossil fuels, since their batteries can store large amounts of energy from renewable sources."
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Whittingham, Goodenough and Yoshino created the batteries that power every object around us: phones, computers, tablets and, more broadly, everything that runs on a battery.
It was a process that took decades: in the early 1970s, Whittingham began studying methods that could lead to sustainable energy technologies and energy storage. His research led him to analyse various superconductors, one of which was lithium.
Whittingham developed the first working battery by exploiting the enormous potential of this material to generate energy. Lithium was chosen for its extreme lightness and its high energy density, which makes it possible to produce large amounts of energy using very small batteries. However, it is also an unstable material that can cause explosions if it comes into contact with air. The batteries produced by Whittingham were revolutionary and more powerful than anything else made at the time, but they were still unable to power large machinery and caught fire easily.
This is where Goodenough came into play — already well known at the time for his contribution to the creation of RAM, the volatile memory in computers that allowed multiple programmes to be run efficiently at the same time. The chemist managed to double the potential of Whittingham's batteries, making them more powerful and more versatile. He was not, however, able to solve the problem of the material's flammability.
The final step was taken by Japan's Yoshino, who eliminated pure lithium from the batteries and replaced it with its ions, which are safer because they do not catch fire. This modification made it possible to create lightweight, rechargeable batteries capable of powering innovative electronic devices such as cameras, phones, laptops and, later on, tablets.
Whittingham, Goodenough and Yoshino built on each other's discoveries to create what are today the world's best rechargeable batteries in terms of capacity and voltage. Over the years they have been improved and made more sustainable and, even though they still have an environmental impact, the benefits they have brought to the renewables sector are undeniable.
The development of these batteries has helped power electric cars and, in recent years, they have begun to be used to store large amounts of energy from sustainable sources.
The biggest challenge of the energy transition has always been this: how to store energy from renewable sources? The batteries developed by the three Nobel laureates, if installed in homes equipped with, for example, solar panels, would make it possible to store the energy produced during the day and use it again during the night-time hours. In theory, they could allow individual homes to become energy-independent from the grid. Furthermore, the material they are made of allows them to be reused hundreds of times before any deterioration begins to show.
Stanley Whittingham was born in 1941 in the United Kingdom. He teaches at Binghamton University and the State University of New York.
John B. Goodenough was born in 1922 in Jena, Germany, and teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. At 97, he is the oldest person ever to have received a Nobel Prize. "I work hard and try to do my best. I am extremely happy to have lived this long and have no intention of retiring," he declared shortly after receiving the prize. "As far as I know he still goes into the laboratory every day. He is an exquisite person who puts his heart into what he does," commented Olof Ramström, a member of the awarding committee.
Akira Yoshino was born in 1948 in Suita, Japan. He is a member of the Kasei Corporation in Tokyo and teaches at Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan. "You have to keep thinking, always, every day. I sensed the direction things were heading. I have a good sixth sense, let's say," he commented jokingly upon receiving the award.
Whittingham, Goodenough and Yoshino received the Nobel Prize for laying the foundations not only of the society in which we live today, but above all of the society in which we wish to live in the future — greener and less dependent on fossil fuels.
