Nobel-winning inventor of lithium-ion battery maker John B Goodenough dies at 100

The lithium-ion battery is one of the most important inventions in the world of science and technology. Nobel laureate, John B. Goodenough, the pioneer of the development of lithium-ion batteries that are used in millions of electric vehicles all around the world, has died at the age of 100.

Goodenough received the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry- along with Britain’s Stanley Whittingham and Japan's Akira Yoshino, for their respective research into lithium-ion batteries - making him the oldest recipient of a Nobel Prize.

"This rechargeable battery laid the foundation of wireless electronics such as mobile phones and laptops. It also makes a fossil fuel-free world possible, as it is used for everything from powering electric cars to storing energy from renewable sources." the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on the award.

“Goodenough was a leader at the cutting edge of scientific research throughout the many decades of his career," said Jay Hartzell, President of the University of Texas at Austin, where Goodenough was a faculty member for 37 years.

In recent years, Goodenough and his university team were working on exploring new directions for energy storage, including a “glass” battery with solid-state electrolyte and lithium or sodium metal electrodes.

In addition to this, Goodenough was also an early developer of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes as an alternative to nickel- and cobalt-based cathodes. This is currently being used in electric vehicle batteries overtaking more-expensive nickel cobalt manganese. This is because LFP uses materials that are more abundant and sustainable at a much more affordable price.

In terms of education, Goodenough completed his Bachelor's in Mathematics from Yale University. He then received a master's and a PhD in physics from the University of Chicago. Later, he became a researcher and team leader at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Goodenough started heading the inorganic chemistry lab at the University of Oxford.

Goodenough was born on July 25, 1922, in Jena, Germany, to American parents. He and his wife were married for over 70 years until her death in 2016. His brother, Ward, who was an anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, died in 2013.

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