Lithium-ion batteries are the new stars of science. They are lightweight, powerful and extremely rechargeable. They store more energy and release it more quickly than other rechargeable batteries, such as lead-acid or nickel-based varieties.
We now use lithium-ion batteries to power portable electronics for communication, work and study.
By enabling electric vehicles and sustainable energy storage, rechargeable batteries are also the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society.
So how did they come about?
In 1859, French physicist Gaston Plante invented lead-acid batteries, the oldest form of rechargeable batteries.
Low cost and capable of discharging surges of high current, they are still used today as starter batteries for some vehicles, and energy storage in uninterruptible power supply systems and some power stations.
However, lead-acid batteries suffer from a limited lifespan of around 200 to 300 charge cycles and long charging times of over 10 hours. They are also less than desirable because lead is toxic. A typical car battery contains about 10 kilograms of lead.
In 1899, Swedish scientist Waldemar Jungner developed nickel-cadmium batteries as an alternative to lead-acid batteries.
They are among the toughest and most durable, able to withstand extremely high temperatures and lasting for well over 1,000 charge cycles. They lose very little energy-storing capacity over time, charge very quickly and are not expensive.
However, cadmium is toxic and was banned for most uses by the European Union in 2004. As a result, nickel-cadmium batteries have been almost completely superseded by nickel-metal hydride ones.
But even nickel-metal hydride batteries are not good enough.
This is why some scientists turned to lithium. Lithium-based batteries were first conceived by American chemist Gilbert Lewis all the way back in 1912. Lithium is the lightest metal and provides the largest energy density for weight.
In the midst of an oil crisis in the 1970s, chemist M Stanley Whittingham improved the standard lithium-based battery concept and created the first functional lithium-ion battery. It can deliver the same power for a longer time than equal-weight lead-acid and nickel-based batteries. However, it was explosive and not safe for widespread use.
Then, in the early 1980s, scientist John Goodenough developed a far more powerful lithium-ion battery, but it was still deemed unstable and unsafe. In 1985, chemist Akira Yoshino replaced pure lithium with a lithium-based compound that was safe and stable for real-world applications.
Fast forward to 2019 and the three scientists won the Nobel prize in chemistry for their groundbreaking and continual development on lithium-ion batteries.
But lithium-ion batteries are not perfect.
Despite improvement over time, they are still at risk of unexpected ignition from battery heat, which is why they must be removed from checked baggage on flights.
In 2013, one battery caused a fire on a Boeing 787, and in 2016, a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught on fire, with the cause partially blamed on its battery.
As the lithium-ion battery market grows, scientists are sure to explore ways to make them safer.
Chinese University professor Lu Yi-chun has just taken a critical step by introducing molecular crowding into a novel aqueous electrolyte to replace lithium-ion salts as the main stabilization agent in developing safe and sustainable batteries.
The most interesting part of the development of rechargeable batteries is that each iteration came about as a result of necessity.
Lead-acid batteries came about because we needed a new energy storage system.
Nickel-based batteries came about because lead batteries were inadequate.
Lithium-ion batteries came about partly because of the oil crisis, and partly because of the need for even more capabilities.
Who knows what will come next?
Dr Jolly Wong is a policy fellow at the Centre for Science and Policy, University of Cambridge
