Products
Industry news
Industry news

History and evolution of rechargeable batteries

Date:2024-02-18
Rechageable battery is one of the most greatest invention in modern history, which has greatly been improving human beings’s life.
This artlice from Motoma team is a brief introduction of history and evolution of rechargeable batteries.


Lead-acid battery
There is no doubt that the first rechargeable battery is invented by the French physicist Gaston Plante in 1859.


Gaston plante inventor lead acid battery

It’s a lead-acid battery, the early model consisted of a spiral roll of two sheets of pure lead separated by a linen cloth, immersed in a glass jar of sulfuric acid solution. The following year, Gaston Plante presented a nine-cell lead-acid battery to the Academy of Sciences.
Now the lead-acid battery is used widely in automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, ATV‘s, etc, because of its’ low manufacturing costs, high energy density, and an ever-growing market demand. 
Gaston himself could not have foreseen his great invention spurring a multibillion-dollar industry.


Nickel cadmium battery (NiCd)

Nicd battery

In 1899, the Swedish scientist Waldemar Jungner invented nickel cadmium battery (NiCd), which offered many advantages over lead acid; however, raw materials of NiCd were expensive which resulted in slow developments of this battery.
Until 1932, advancements were made to deposit active materials inside a porous nickel-plated electrode, and in 1947 led to modern seald NiCd battery by absorbing gases generated during charge.
NiCd battery was the preferred choice for two-way radios, emergency medical equipment, professional video cameras and power tools for many years. 
The standard NiCd also remains one of the most rugged and forgiving batteries, and the airline industry stays true to this system, but needs proper care to attain longevity. 


Nickel-metal-hydride battery (NiMH)
Nickel-metal hydride battery (NiMH) is similar to a NiCd battery, the positive electrode is also nickel oxyhydroxide (NiOOH), but use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy for negative electrode instead of cadmium. 
NiMH battery is a good replacement of NiCd as it has many advanateges, frequently used in a wide range of consumer electronic devices, such as cellular phones, camcorders, shavers, transceivers, computers, and other portable applications.
  • Two to three times capacity of an equivalent size of NiCd.
  • Longer cycle life.
  • More environmentally friendly than cadmium, which may enter the human body and cause harm.
The NiMH battery was patented in 1986 by American scientist Stanford Ovshinsky, also founder of ovonics, when researching hydrogen storage materials.

Stanford Ovshinsky NiMH battery


Lithium-Ion Battery
The first prototype of the modern Lithium-Ion battery, which uses a carbonaceous anode rather than lithium metal, was developed and patented by Japanese chemist Akira Yoshino in 1985 and commercialized by a Sony and Asahi Kasei team led by Yoshio Nishi in 1991.

Akira Yoshino Lithium Ion battery

Due to the outstanding performance and advantates, lithium-ion battery has boomed in recent decades, including lithium polymer battery, cylindrical lithium battery such as 14500,16650, 18650, 21700, and LiFePO4 battery, the global lithium-ion battery market size was estimated at USD 54.4 billion in 2023 and is projected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% from 2024 to 2030.