John Goodenough, a Battery Trailblazer, Dies at 100
His efforts helped mainstream the lithium-ion batteries that are now a pillar in efforts to cut carbon emissions.
John Goodenough
Photographer: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images
John Goodenough, a pioneering researcher who helped transform lithium-ion batteries, died at the age of 100 on Sunday.
His inventions that helped develop modern computers and commercialize lithium-ion batteries touched every person’s life on the planet. Yet few knew him and his work didn’t bring him riches, though it did earn him a Nobel Prize very late in life. None of that bothered Goodenough, as he kept developing better batteries almost until the end of his life. His decades of work and innovation are now a cornerstone in the race to decarbonize the world’s vehicles and energy system.