How big oil, an industrial accident in India, heavy metal poisoning, and dog food led to the development and commercialization of the lithium-ion battery in Japan

Prior to Alessandro Volta’s invention of the battery in 1799, the only type of electricity known to science was what we now call static electricity. The battery was the first source of reliable direct current electricity, and Volta’s invention ushered in a massive wave of scientific and technical advancements in the 19^th century. World changing technologies like the telegraph, the electric motor, and the economical extraction of aluminum metal from ore were all enabled by the battery. Fast forward to the end of the 20^th century and we see an analogous impact from the commercial introduction of the lithium-ion battery in 1991. Many of us now drive electric vehicles, carry the equivalent of a supercomputer in our pockets, and light our homes at night with the stored energy of the sun, all thanks to lithium-ion batteries. However, even though for nearly two centuries battery R&D and manufacturing were centered in the US and Europe, the lithium-ion battery was commercialized in a country that as of the late 20^th century had virtually no experience with battery technology: Japan. In this presentation we will explore the history of the development of the lithium-ion battery and how geopolitical events, industrial accidents, and a few questionable corporate decisions, led to the rise of Japanese dominance in battery technology.