Inselhalle

Main Hall

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 50th 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 materials to their limits. Ten-year lifetimes demand 99.95% reaction selectivity.

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. We need to stop building new “old gigafactories” in North America. This will require new materials that can be sustainably manufactured and use non-toxic processes.