Review—Early Efforts to Develop Practical Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

Abstract

Early efforts to develop practical rechargeable Li batteries begun in the 1970s led to a number of important contributions. We demonstrated practical rechargeable Li battery cells with capacities ranging from a few hundred milli-ampere hours to several ampere hours. In the course of the next couple of decades we made many other important contributions to lay a foundation for this technology. These include the recognition of the importance of overcharge protection of rechargeable Li and Li-ion batteries in order to mitigate cell degradation and to prevent safety hazards, the development of highly conductive gel polymer electrolytes for building rechargeable Li metal and Li-ion batteries, and the invention and advancement of the rechargeable Li-air battery which is pursued world-wide today.