The Royal Society congratulates the winners of the Chemistry Prize 2019

The Royal Society offers its congratulations to the winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019, including Foreign Member of the Royal Society, and Copley Award Winner, John B. Goodenough.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has jointly awarded this year’s prize to Professor Goodenough, alongside Professor M. Stanley Whittingham and Professor Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said: “Professor Goodenough’s contributions in the field of materials science have fundamentally shaped the technology we take for granted today. From powering the smartphone in your pocket, to his defining work on the properties of magnetism, these contributions have opened new avenues for scientific investigation and engineering. 

“The cathode he developed for the lithium ion battery built on the work of his fellow laureate Professor Whittingham, and was made commercially viable by the work of Professor Yoshino. Scientific breakthroughs are rarely – if ever – a solo endeavour and it is absolutely fitting that this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry should be shared in this way. 

“I look forward to celebrating with John in person when he picks up his Copley Award at the Society this evening.”

Professor Goodenough was awarded the Royal Society’s Copley Award (2019).