[Complete Battery Mastery] ③ 'Sony' Camcorder Equipped with the 'Dream Battery'... Thanks to the Savior Who Came to the Laboratory

Asahi Kasei Struggles with Commercialization
Sony Surprises with Lithium-Ion Battery Announcement
Also Acquires Patents from UK Atomic Energy Research Institute

Editor's NoteWe are currently in the battery era. Batteries are found in almost everything, from mobile phones and laptops to electric vehicles. [Complete Battery Mastery] is a section created to easily convey the basics of batteries, their ecosystem, company information, industry trends, and outlook to general readers, students, and investors interested in the battery industry and related companies. It is published every Saturday. After the series, it will be published as a book.

Professor Jeff Dahn and Moli Energy

Even after Asahi Kasei’s researcher Yoshino Kasei developed a secondary battery applying lithium cobalt oxide and petroleum coke, it took several more years before lithium-ion batteries appeared in the world. Today, numerous partner companies supply materials, and lithium-ion batteries are produced through various manufacturing processes. However, at that time, no one knew how to mass-produce this new secondary battery.

Moreover, Asahi Kasei, which developed this technology, was a small chemical company with no experience in making secondary batteries. It did not have the coating or winding equipment necessary for battery production. Every single material and piece of equipment had to be procured independently. As a result, they only managed to produce crude prototypes.

While Asahi Kasei struggled, the first company to commercialize lithium secondary batteries emerged. It was a Canadian company called Moli Energy. Moli Energy’s product, Molicel, used molybdenum disulfide for the cathode and metallic lithium for the anode, delivering a voltage of 2.2 volts. Moli Energy’s first customer was Japan’s major telecommunications company NTT. In 1988, NTT launched the TZ-802, considered Japan’s first mobile phone, which included Moli Energy’s secondary battery.

The result was unfavorable. In August 1989, a fire broke out in the TZ-802, causing burns to a user. Investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was Molicel. An internal short circuit in the battery led to an explosion. The dendrite problem inherent in lithium-metal secondary batteries had not yet been overcome. All 10,000 secondary batteries supplied to NTT were recalled. Moli Energy could not continue its business and entered legal administration.

Professor Jeff Dan (Photo by Dalhousie University)

The person who led the development and commercialization of this product was Jeff Dahn, a promising young scientist from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Dahn continued his research on secondary batteries and made significant contributions to their advancement. He is currently a professor at Dalhousie University in Canada and is regarded as an authority on lithium-ion batteries. Since 2016, he has served as a research partner for Tesla. However, he was not included in the list of Nobel Chemistry Prize laureates announced in 2019.

After entering legal administration, Moli Energy was sold to a Japanese technology consortium for 5 million Canadian dollars and renamed Nippon Moli Energy in 1994. In 1998, it merged with Taiwan’s E-One to become the current E-One Moli Energy. Although the initial product failed, Moli Energy was able to rise again based on the accumulated technology of secondary batteries. E-One Moli Energy still produces batteries under the name "Molicel."

The Molicel explosion incident made Asahi Kasei’s researchers more cautious. Thorough verification of explosions and safety was required. More importantly, they did not know where to use this new product. Time passed without any buyers stepping forward.

Then, in 1991, Sony suddenly announced the commercialization of lithium-ion batteries. It was the world’s first successful commercialization of lithium-ion batteries.

Asahi Kasei was thrown into turmoil. According to Dr. Yoshino’s book, Sony had been jointly developing lithium-ion batteries for 8mm video cameras with Asahi Kasei. However, Sony commercialized lithium-ion batteries first, which was inevitably disconcerting.

Asahi Kasei researchers immediately obtained Sony’s batteries and began investigations. The cathode contained cobalt oxide, and the anode used carbon materials?the same as those developed by Dr. Yoshino. Subsequently, Asahi Kasei gave up independent development of secondary batteries and established a joint venture with Toshiba.

Sony as the Final Winner of Round 1

The records are unclear on how Sony was able to commercialize lithium-ion batteries before Asahi Kasei. However, it seems Sony resolved patent issues. After Sony’s commercialization of lithium-ion batteries, patent disputes did not arise. Dr. Yoshino also clearly acknowledged in his book, "Although I do not know the exact circumstances under which lithium-ion batteries were developed within Sony, there is no doubt that Sony was the first in the world to commercialize lithium-ion batteries."

According to the book by another Asahi Kasei research executive, Isao Kuribayashi, it appears that Sony and Asahi Kasei initially cooperated closely. In October 1987, Asahi Kasei employees visited Sony’s camcorder division to show prototypes of lithium-ion batteries they had developed. At that time, Sony scientists freely visited Asahi Kasei’s laboratories and vice versa.

Sound Lithium-ion Battery Sample

At that time, Sony was struggling with its own battery development. Since 1975, Sony had established a joint venture called Sony-Eveready with Union Carbide in the United States to develop rechargeable batteries. When Union Carbide sold its battery division, Sony established Sony Energytec in 1986 to continue battery development independently.

Sony’s serious commitment to batteries was to equip its electronic devices with self-developed batteries to create synergy?a kind of vertical integration strategy. In particular, Sony needed rechargeable batteries for its camcorders. Having lost the VHS vs. Betamax format war, Sony bet heavily on 8mm camcorders. At that time, camcorders used nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) batteries. Sony aimed to apply next-generation batteries with better performance to release more compact camcorders.

At this point, Asahi Kasei researchers brought lithium-ion battery prototypes for demonstration. It was exactly the product Sony had been looking for. They probably rejoiced inwardly.

However, Sony’s company history on its website only explains that Sony Energytec researchers commercialized lithium-ion batteries after many trials and errors, without mentioning any connection to Asahi Kasei. Sony’s described process for developing the first lithium-ion battery is as follows:

"Initially, six different research projects were approved. They were evaluated monthly, and projects were eliminated one by one. The team repeatedly went through trial and error to find the 'dream battery.' Finally, one researcher joyfully exclaimed, 'We did it!'"

What Does the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment Have to Do with It?

However, Sony was well aware that this technology was not entirely their own. Especially, the lithium cobalt oxide used as the cathode material was discovered by Professor John Goodenough. Before announcing commercialization, Sony needed to resolve patent issues.

At this time, Sony approached not Professor Goodenough but the UK Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE). When Professor Goodenough was researching lithium cobalt oxide at Oxford University, he had received research funding from AERE in exchange for transferring the patent rights entirely. Neither AERE nor Professor Goodenough recognized the commercial value of this patent at that time.

As a result, although AERE had no contribution to secondary batteries, it was able to collect substantial patent royalties from Sony. It is estimated that AERE received between 50 million and 100 million dollars (approximately 66.3 billion to 132.7 billion KRW) in patent fees before the patent expired. Meanwhile, Goodenough did not receive a single penny.

Sony’s first lithium-ion battery was first installed in the 'CCD-TR1' 8mm video camera. With lithium-ion batteries boasting higher energy density, stability, and durability than existing secondary batteries, the world quickly recognized the value of this new product. It began to be adopted not only in camcorders but also in portable electronic devices such as CD players.

Coinciding with the emergence of mobile phones in the 1990s, lithium-ion batteries rapidly spread. Japanese electronics companies such as Sanyo Electric, Toshiba, and Panasonic entered the secondary battery business one after another, ushering in a golden age.

What Are Nickel-Cadmium Batteries?

Before lithium-ion batteries were commercialized, nickel-based secondary batteries were widely used. Nickel-cadmium batteries are often abbreviated as Ni-Cd batteries. Nickel-based secondary batteries use nickel oxyhydroxide as the cathode active material. This material has high capacity density, excellent corrosion resistance, and low metal dissolution during charging and discharging. Nickel-based secondary batteries are classified into nickel-cadmium, nickel-iron, nickel-zinc, and nickel-metal hydride batteries depending on the anode active material. Ni-Cd batteries have a long history, having been invented in 1899 by Swedish engineer Ernst Jungner.

Nickel-cadmium batteries are more robust than lead-acid batteries, resistant to vibration and shock, and capable of charging and discharging at high currents. They also maintain voltage well at low temperatures. However, they have a critical drawback in that they use cadmium, which is harmful to human health. Cadmium was the cause of Itai-itai disease that shook Japan in the 1960s. The use of nickel-cadmium batteries has been banned in Europe. Their usage began to decline with the advent of lithium-ion batteries.

- IEEE, 'Who Really Invented the Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery?'

- Sony Website, About Sony Group, Chapter 13 Recognized as an International Standard

- Nobel Chemistry Prize: The Story of Dr. Yoshino’s Invention of the Lithium-Ion Battery

- Shiraiishi Taku, 'The First Reading of Secondary Batteries'

- Electric Autonomy Canada, 'New lessons from the epic story of Moli Energy, the Canadian pioneer of rechargeable lithium battery technology'