Akira Yoshino is a professor at the Meijo University in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. We’re making a post about him today as Yoshino is the 71-year-old inventor of the rechargeable lithium-ion batteryThis invention is extremely significant.
Yoshino designed a power pack for smartphones and laptops back in 1985, when these were still largely dreams. Also, his research piggybacked on earlier work by John Goodenough & Koichi Mizushima, and Godshall et al.
Why Akira Yoshino Wants Tougher Electric Car Batteries
Chisaki Watanabe interviewed the spritely professor for Bloomberg, and posted an explanation on December 27 2017. He learned Akira Yoshino believes battery manufacturers must “rethink their technology if predictions for a wave of self-driving vehicles pan out.”
This is because they don’t only have to become more powerful to extend the time between recharging. They must also be more robust to survive near-constant driving, and short-distance trips by shared autonomous vehicles. “A car 10 people share means it will be running 10 times more,” Akira Yoshino explains “Durability will become very important.”
What Tougher E-Car Batteries Could Mean in Practice
The professor is calling for a rethink, because we are using lithium-ion technology beyond its original purpose. “Electric cars are a completely new application. We’ll have to wait until we find out what kind of batteries will really be needed,” Akira Yoshino believes.
Additionally, “The future of batteries depends on what will happen to the future of the automobile society.” However, he has already identified one challenge. This is to develop batteries able to withstand expanding and contracting at the beginning and end of frequent short trips.
Moreover, Akira Yoshino entered the world in 1946 in a Japan that war had devastated. He doesn’t talk about how he clawed his way out of the mess, educated himself, and achieved such greatness. Perhaps this is the mark of true success. He does not even have a photo on his company website, and this is the only video we could find.
Related
Akira Yoshino Father of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Greatest Challenge Facing Electric Cars
Preview Image: NASA Prototype Lithium Ion Polymer Battery
Video Share Link: https://youtu.be/1e3e7ATksck
