The 2018 Japan Prize

• Field:
  Resources, Energy, Environment and Social Infrastructure
• Achievement:
  Development of lithium ion batteries
• Lecture:
  リチウムイオン電池の開発と事業化までの道のり

Awards

1999	Fiscal 1998 Chemical Technology Prize from the Chemical Society of Japan for achievements in the development of the lithium-ion battery
1999	Battery Division Technology Award from The Electrochemical Society for achievements in pioneering work on lithium-ion battery technology
2001	Ichimura Prizes in Industry—Meritorious Achievement Prize, from the New Technology Development Foundation (Ichimura Foundation) for achievements in the development and commercialization of the lithium-ion battery
2001	Kanto-block Commendation for Invention—Encouragement Prize of Invention of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, from the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation
2002	National Commendation for Invention—Invention Prize of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, from the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation
2003	Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology—Prize for Science and Technology, Development Category, from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
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	Designation as a Fellow of the Chemical Society of Japan
2012	IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2013	The Global Energy Prize
2013	The Kato Memorial Prize from the Kato Foundation for Promotion of Science
2014	The Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering from The National Academy of Engineering
2016	The NIMS Award 2016 from the National Institute for Materials Science

Education

1970	B.S., Department of Petrochemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University
1972	M.S., Department of Petrochemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University
2005	Dr.Eng., Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University

Work Career

1972	Entered Asahi Kasei Corp.
1992	Manager, Product Development Group, Ion Battery Business Promotion Dept., Asahi Kasei Corp.
1994	Manager, Technical Development, A&T Battery Corp.
1997	Manager, Rechargeable Ion Battery Group, Asahi Kasei Corp.
2001	Manager, Battery Materials Business Development Dept., Asahi Kasei Corp.
2003	Group Fellow, Asahi Kasei Corp.
2005	General Manager, Yoshino Laboratory, Asahi Kasei Corp.
2010	President, Lithium Ion Battery Technology and Evaluation Center (LIBTEC)*
2015	Advisor, Asahi Kasei Corp. Visiting Professor, Research and Education Center for Advanced Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems, Kyushu University*
2017	Professor, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Meijo University*
2017	Honorary Fellow, Asahi Kasei Corp.* * Current position

Affiliation

• Asahi Kasei Corp.
  1-105 Kanda Jinbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8101 Japan

Publications, Thesis

• “Converting carbon material into a battery negative electrode (in Japanese)”
  TANSO (Journal of The Carbon Society of Japan), 1999, No. 186, 45–49
  Akira Yoshino
• “Development of Lithium Ion Battery and Recent Technology Trends (in Japanese, published pursuant to receipt of prize from the Chemical Society of Japan)”
  Journal of The Chemical Society of Japan, 2000, No. 8, 523–534
  Akira Yoshino, Kenji Otsuka, Takayuki Nakajima, Akira Koyama, Satoshi Nakajo
• “Development of Lithium Ion Battery”
  Mol. Cryst. and Liq. Cryst., 2000, Vol. 340, 425–429
  Akira Yoshino
• “Development process and the latest trend for lithium-ion battery technology in Japan (in Chinese)”
  Chinese Journal of Power Sources, 2001, Vol. 25, No. 6, 416–422
  Akira Yoshino
• “Cathode properties of phospho-olivine LiMPO4 for lithium secondary batteries”
  Journal of Power Sources, 2001, Vol. 97–98, 430–432
  Shigeto Okada, Shoichiro Sawa, Minato Egashira, Jun-ichi Yamaki, Mitsuharu Tabuchi, Hiroyuki Kageyama, Tokuzo Konishi, Akira Yoshino
• “Overview of carbonaceous materials for lithium-ion battery”
  Mol. Cryst. and Liq. Cryst., 2002, Vol. 388, 575–579
  Akira Yoshino