LIB in this configuration was commercialized by Sony in 1991 and by A&T Battery in 1992. Yoshino described challenges and history of the invention process in a book chapter from 2014. Yoshino discovered that carbonaceous material with a certain crystalline structure was suitable as anode material, and this is the anode material that was used in the first generation of commercial LIBs. Yoshino developed the aluminum foil current collector which formed a passivation layer to enable high cell voltage at low cost, and developed the functional separator membrane and the use of a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) device for additional safety. The LIB's coil-wound structure was conceived by Yoshino to provide large electrode surface area and enable high current discharge despite the low conductivity of the organic electrolyte. In 1986 Yoshino commissioned the manufacture of a batch of LIB prototypes. Based on safety test data from those prototypes, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a letter stating that the batteries were different from the metallic lithium battery. Recognition 1998 Chemical Technology Prize from the Chemical Society of Japan 1999: Battery Division Technology Award from The Electrochemical Society 2001: Ichimura Prizes in Industry—Meritorious Achievement Prize 2003: Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology—Prize for Science and Technology, Development Category 2004: Medal with Purple Ribbon, from the Government of Japan 2011: Yamazaki-Teiichi Prize from the Foundation for Promotion of Material Science and Technology of Japan 2011: C&C Prize from the NEC C&C Foundation 2012 : IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies from the IEEE 2013 : Global Energy Prize 2014 : Charles Stark Draper Prize 2018 : Japan Prize 2019 : European Inventor Award 2019 : Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 : Order of Culture References External links The father of lithium-ion batteries (Chemistry World, July 2018) including the Nobel Lecture 8 December 2019 Brief History and Future of Lithium-ion Batteries 1948 births Living people Draper Prize winners Electrochemists Japanese chemists Japanese Nobel laureates Kyoto University alumni Nobel laureates in Chemistry People from Suita Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of Culture Osaka University alumni