Nobel-winning lithium battery inventor John Goodenough dies at 100

John Goodenough, who shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the lithium-ion battery that revolutionized modern life, has died at the age of 100, the University of Texas announced.

Goodenough died on June 25, said the university, where he worked as an engineering professor.

The U.S. scientist's contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries paved the way for smartphones and a fossil fuel-free society.

"John's legacy as a brilliant scientist is immeasurable - his discoveries improved the lives of billions of people around the world," Jay Hartzell, president of the University of Texas at Austin, said in the statement. "He was a leader at the cutting edge of scientific research throughout the many decades of his career."

In 1986, at the age of 64, Goodenough joined the University of Texas where he served as a faculty member in the Cockrell School of Engineering for 37 years.

Goodenough became the oldest person to win a Nobel Prize when at the age of 97 he shared the 2019 chemistry award with Britain's Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino of Japan for the invention of the lithium-ion battery.