Battery News

For decades, researchers have looked for ways to eliminate cobalt from the high-energy batteries that power electronic devices, due to its high cost and the human rights ramifications of its mining. But past attempts haven’t lived up to the performance standards of batteries with cobalt.

Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have built a new type of battery that combines the many benefits of existing options while eliminating their key shortcomings and saving energy. Most batteries are composed of either solid-state electrodes, such as lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics, or liquid-state electrodes, including flow batteries for smart grids. The UT researchers have created what they call a “room-temperature all-liquid-metal battery,” which includes the best of both worlds of liquid- and solid-state batteries.

The 5G revolution has begun, and the first lines of phones that can access the next generation of wireless speeds have already hit the shelves. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Lille in France have built a new component that will more efficiently allow access to the highest 5G frequencies in a way that increases devices’ battery life and speeds up how quickly we can do things like stream high-definition media.

Lithium-sulfur batteries have been hailed as the next big step in battery technology, promising significantly longer use for everything from cellphones to electric vehicles on a single charge, while being more environmentally sustainable to produce than current lithium-ion batteries. However, these batteries don’t last as long as their lithium-ion counterparts, degrading over time.

John B. Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry — jointly with Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University — “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”

The elimination of cobalt — an expensive chemical component currently required to power our smartphones and laptops — from lithium-ion batteries has been the goal of Texas Engineer Arumugam Manthiram for much of his career.

John Goodenough, a University of Texas at Austin professor in the J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, has won U.K. Royal Society's Copley Medal, thought to be the world’s oldest scientific prize. Already a fellow of the Royal Society, Goodenough has been honored for his exceptional contributions to materials science, including his discoveries that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium battery used in devices such as laptops and smartphones worldwide.

Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered a family of anode materials that can double the charge capacity of lithium-ion battery anodes — a breakthrough that opens the door to cheaper, smaller and lighter batteries in the future.

The Welch Foundation has announced that Cockrell School of Engineering professor and legendary inventor of the lithium-ion battery John B. Goodenough is the 2017 recipient of the Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry. Goodenough first received wide acclaim for his research following the invention of the lithium-ion battery in 1980, leading the way for the extraordinary growth in portable electronic devices that continues today. More than 30 years later, Goodenough, who is 95 years old, continues to contribute groundbreaking research.

A team of engineers led by 94-year-old John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, has developed the first all-solid-state battery cells that could lead to safer, faster-charging, longer-lasting rechargeable batteries for handheld mobile devices, electric cars and stationary energy storage.

The Department of Energy has selected Battery500, a national consortium led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and including Arumugam Manthiram of The University of Texas at Austin as its chief scientist, to help lead a new five-year, $50 million initiative to advance battery technology in electric cars.

Adam Heller, chemical engineering research professor and professor emeritus in the Cockrell School, has been named the 78th Honorary Member of the Electrochemical Society (ECS). This prestigious recognition is only bestowed upon long-standing ECS members who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of electrochemistry and allied disciplines.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s Science, Technology and Space Minister Yaakov Peri have selected John B. Goodenough, professor at The University of Texas at Austin and inventor of the lithium-ion battery, to share The Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation.

Led by the inventor of the lithium-ion battery, a team of researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has identified a new safe and sustainable cathode material for low-cost sodium-ion batteries.

The National Academy of Engineering will honor Goodenough with the Draper Prize, which recognizes accomplishments that have significantly benefited society.

Materials science and engineering doctoral candidate Arturo Gutierrez will travel to Virginia to accept an award for a video he created about his research on lithium-ion batteries.

Gutierrez submitted his video, titled “Energy Addiction,” to the National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program’s annual Video and Poster Competition. Out of 124 total submissions, Gutierrez’s has been selected as one of 25 winning videos. He will be recognized on June 11 at the NSF Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Professor John Goodenough is one of 12 eminent researchers to receive the highest honor bestowed by the United States government upon scientists, engineers and inventors.

Dr. John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been honored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) with its 2012 Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies.

John Goodenough, a mechanical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin who is widely credited for the scientific discovery and development of the lithium-ion rechargeable battery, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Goodenough was among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries elected into the academy for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The academy is the country's most prestigious scientific organization, and election into it is one of the highest honors that can be accorded to a scientist in the United States. Including Goodenough’s election, the number of current faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin elected to the academy is 17.

The University of Texas at Austin has announced an agreement with Canada-based Hydro-Quebec for lithium-ion material technology invented and patented by Cockrell School of Engineering Professor John Goodenough, a world-renowned scientist at the university.