Battery Developments

Inventions in the 1700s and 1800s are well documented and credit goes to the dignified inventors. Benjamin Franklin invented the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglasses and the lightning rod. He was unequaled in American history as an inventor until Thomas Edison emerged. Edison was a good businessman who may have taken credit for inventions others had made. Contrary to popular belief, Edison did not invent the light bulb; he improved upon a 50-year-old idea by using a small, carbonized filament lit up in a better vacuum. Although a number of people had worked on this idea before, Edison gained the financial reward by making the concept commercially viable to the public. The phonograph is another success story for which Edison received due credit.

Countries often credit their own citizens for having made important inventions, whether or not they deserve it. When visiting museums in Europe, the USA and Japan one sees such bestowment. The work to develop the car, x-ray machines, telephones, broadcast radio, televisions and computers might have been done in parallel, not knowing of others’ advancements at that time, and the rightful inventor is often not clearly identified. Similar uncertainties exist with the invention of new battery systems, and we give respect to research teams and organizations rather than individuals. Table 1 summarizes battery advancements and lists inventors when available.

Year	Inventor	Activity
1600	William Gilbert (UK)	Establishment of electrochemistry study
1791	Luigi Galvani (Italy)	Discovery of “animal electricity”
1800 1802 1820 1833 1836 1839 1859 1868 1899	Alessandro Volta (Italy) William Cruickshank (UK) André-Marie Ampère (France) Michael Faraday (UK) John F. Daniell (UK) William Robert Grove (UK) Gaston Planté (France) Georges Leclanché (France)  Waldmar Jungner (Sweden)	Invention of the voltaic cell (zinc, copper disks) First electric battery capable of mass production Electricity through magnetism Announcement of Faraday’s law Invention of the Daniell cell Invention of the fuel cell (H2/O2) Invention of the lead acid battery Invention of the Leclanché cell (carbon-zinc) Invention of the nickel-cadmium battery
1901 1932 1947 1949 1970s 1990 1991 1994 1996 1996	Thomas A. Edison (USA) Shlecht & Ackermann (D) Georg Neumann (Germany) Lew Urry, Eveready Battery Group effort Group effort Sony (Japan) Bellcore (USA) Moli Energy (Canada) University of Texas (USA)	Invention of the nickel-iron battery Invention of the sintered pole plate Successfully sealing the nickel-cadmium battery Invention of the alkaline-manganese battery Development of valve-regulated lead acid battery Commercialization of nickel-metal-hydride battery Commercialization of lithium-ion battery Commercialization of lithium-ion polymer Introduction of Li-ion with manganese cathode Identification of Li-phosphate (LiFePO4)
2002	University of Montreal, Quebec Hydro, MIT, others	Improvement of Li-phosphate, nanotechnology, commercialization

Table 1: History of modern battery development. No new major battery system has entered the commercial market since the invention of Li-phosphate in 1996.