Stanley Whittingham

Abstract:

The Nobel Committee citation read: “They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind.” Now the world needs to take action. Although lithium batteries celebrated their 50^th anniversary in 2022, they still achieve only 25% of their theoretical energy density. Even at that level, they now dominate portable energy storage. The dominant anode and cathode today are graphitic carbon and the layered NMC oxides, LI[NiMnCoAl]O₂. Both need improving. We must push the chemistry to its limits. This demands that the reaction selectivity 

Alternatives to Li-NMC cells will also be discussed, with also a discussion of what is very technically and/or politically challenging and maybe not viable in an attempt to correct some of the exponential hype in the battery energy storage arena. A key challenge in the Western world is to build a sustainable supply chain and manufacturing capability that leapfrogs the present 30 year old technology.