By Maria Temming and Jonathan Lambert
Updated
Creating a rechargeable world has earned three scientists the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
John B. Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin, M. Stanley Whittingham of Binghamton University in New York and Akira Yoshino of the Asahi Kasei Corporation in Tokyo and Meijo University in Nagoya, Japan, won for their contributions to developing lithium-ion batteries.
These lightweight, rechargeable batteries power everything from portable electronics to electric cars and bicycles, and provide a way to store energy from renewable but transient energy sources, like sunlight and wind.
“This battery has had a dramatic impact on our society,” Olof Ramström, a chemist at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and member of the 2019 Nobel Committee for chemistry, said October 9 during the announcement of the prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. “It’s clear that the discoveries of our three laureates really made this possible. It’s really been to the very best benefit of humankind.”