The "Special Award for the President of the University of Tokyo" is given to those who have raised the honor of the University of Tokyo through great contributions to society such as the development of academic culture, and was established by the University of Tokyo on November 2019, 11.

　Koichi Mizushima searched for positive electrode materials for lithium batteries under Professor John Goodenough of Oxford University in 1977, who was an assistant in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo (the oldest in history and won the Nobel Chemistry Award in 2019). And found that the material "lithium cobalt oxide" is excellent as a positive electrode for lithium-ion batteries.

　This discovery contributed to the establishment of the basic configuration of lithium-ion secondary batteries, and became the cornerstone of social innovation such as various portable electronic devices such as smartphones and laptop computers that are indispensable today, and hybrid vehicles.Lithium-ion secondary batteries are expected to be applied to a wider range of fields in the future, such as expanding their use in power plants that utilize renewable energy and large power storage systems.

　In addition, Mr. Mizushima was awarded a special award from Toshiba Corporation for his achievements in discovering the positive electrode material, and the award ceremony was held on November 11.

reference:[The University of Tokyo] The University of Tokyo President's Special Award (PDF)

[Toshiba Corporation] Koichi Mizushima's decision to receive our special award