In a number of cases, these Nobel Prizes were only bestowed years later – long after the value of the breakthrough was recognised internationally. For example, Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for their discovery of the “double helix” structure of DNA nine years earlier.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was also way overdue, lauding a technology that has not only changed the world, but one which is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution: Lithium-ion batteries. The prize was awarded to three scientists, John B Goodenough, M Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino, for their contributions to the development of the power source that is used in everything from mobile phones to laptops to electric cars.

The oil crisis of the 1970s prompted M Stanley Whittingham to start working on energy technologies that did not rely on fossil fuels. He discovered an energy-rich material called titanium disulphide, which he used to make a cathode in a lithium battery. He created the anode from metallic lithium, producing an effective battery, but one that was explosive because of the metallic lithium.

John B Goodenough enhanced Whittingham’s design, predicting that the cathode could be improved if it was made from a metal oxide, rather than a sulphide. In 1980, after searching for the ideal material, Goodenough used cobalt oxide to boost the lithium battery's potential to four volts. Akira Yoshino used Goodenough's cathode as a basis in creating the first commercially viable lithium-ion battery in 1985.

“Lithium batteries have revolutionised our lives since they first entered the market in 1991, and have been of the greatest benefit to humankind,” the award panel said when they announced the laureates. Sara Snogerup Linse, a chemistry professor and member of the award committee added that “we have gained access to a technical revolution” as a result of the development of these batteries.

While their influence on the evolution of technologies such as mobile phones, laptops and electric cars has been profound, lithium-ion batteries promise to continue enabling life-changing innovations. These rechargeable devices can store significant amounts of energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, and further development of renewable energy systems could see the batteries becoming the foundation of the energy grids of the future.

In an interview with the Japanese press after the award was announced, Yoshino admitted that he had only recently started using a mobile phone, adding that he did “not really feel that he had helped make a product that benefited his life” as a result. The award panel, however, disagreed, stating that lithium-ion batteries are one of the most influential pieces of materials science that influence the modern life of everyone on the planet.