The Birth of the Lithium‐Ion Battery

The moment of truth: The lithium-ion battery is currently the predominant power source for mobile phones, laptop computers, and many other portable electronic devices, and is being used increasingly in electric vehicles. Its inventor, A. Yoshino, describes the process by which the lithium-ion battery was first developed (picture shows the first test-tube cell) and made commercially practical. Successful safety tests marked the turning point in this work.