A UT-Austin professor is getting a Nobel Prize for his work on developing the lithium-ion battery. We use them every day, from cell phones and laptops to electric vehicles, but last week the man behind the lithium-ion battery is getting his due.
University of Texas Austin professor Dr. John Goodenough received the Nobel Prize in chemistry last week.
The foundation of the lithium-ion battery was laid during the oil crisis in the 1970s when Stanley Whittingham worked on developing methods that could lead to fossil fuel-free energy technologies. His research on superconductors and energy-rich material led him to create the cathode in lithium battery, but the metallic lithium in the cathode made the battery too explosive to be viable.
John Goodenough improved the cathode using a metal oxide instead of a metal sulphide, stabilizing the cathode in 1980, a breakthrough that would lead to commercially viable lithium batteries
The 97-year-old says he's honored and humbled by the Nobel Prize and is thankful for all the support he's received in his life.
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