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Akira Yoshino Patents & Innovation Profile — PatSnap Eureka

Akira Yoshino Patents & Innovation Profile — PatSnap Eureka
Inventor Profile · PatSnap Eureka

Akira Yoshino: Patent Portfolio & Innovation Analysis

Akira Yoshino is a Japanese chemist and inventor at Asahi Kasei Corporation who created the first safe, commercially viable lithium-ion battery prototype in 1985, earning the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry shared with John B. Goodenough and M. Stanley Whittingham. His foundational work on carbonaceous anode materials and non-aqueous electrolyte cell architecture underpins a research career spanning over 628 indexed scientific papers and decades of continued innovation in electrochemical energy storage.

628+
Indexed Papers
1985–2021+
Research Career
1,024
Top Paper Citations
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Most Cited Papers by Year

The 2012 review "The Birth of the Lithium‐Ion Battery" is the most cited work, accumulating 1,024 citations — a landmark in battery science.

Citation counts of Akira Yoshino's top papers by year: 2004=105, 2012=1024, 2012=83, 2013=169, 2014=51, 2015=82, 2016=45, 2022=67 Bar chart showing citation counts for Akira Yoshino's most cited papers by publication year, sourced from PatSnap Eureka literature database. Peak citation count is 1,024 for the 2012 review. 1024 768 512 256 0 105 2004 1024 2012a 83 2012b 169 2013 51 2014 82 2015 45 2016 67 2022
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628+
Indexed Papers
Spanning battery science, materials chemistry & energy storage
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1,024
Top Paper Citations
"The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery" (2012)
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Asahi Kasei
Primary Institution
Core research career · Honorary Fellow
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LIB Architecture
Core Technology
Carbonaceous anode · non-aqueous electrolyte · polymer separator
Research Analytics

Akira Yoshino's Research Impact & Technology Focus

The 2012 review "The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery" dominates citation counts with 1,024 references, establishing Yoshino as the definitive authority on LIB commercialisation history.

Paper Citations by Year

Citation counts for Yoshino's most significant papers. Peak: 1,024 citations for the 2012 LIB review.

Akira Yoshino paper citations by year: 2004=105, 2012=1024, 2013=169, 2014=51, 2015=82, 2016=45, 2022=67 Bar chart showing citation counts of Akira Yoshino's most cited papers by publication year, from PatSnap Eureka literature database. The 2012 LIB review peaks at 1,024 citations. 1024 768 512 256 0 105 2004 1,024 2012 169 2013 51 2014 82 2015 45 2016 67 2022

Research Theme Breakdown

Lithium-ion battery fundamentals dominate Yoshino's confirmed research output at Asahi Kasei Corporation.

Research theme breakdown for Akira Yoshino: LIB Fundamentals=60%, Polymer and Separator Materials=25%, Advanced Electrolytes=15% Donut chart showing the distribution of Akira Yoshino's confirmed research themes based on paper content and institutional affiliation from PatSnap Eureka literature data. 628+ papers LIB Fundamentals (60%) Polymer & Separators (25%) Advanced Electrolytes (15%)

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Technology Domains

Core Areas of Innovation

Akira Yoshino's research spans three deeply interconnected technology areas — all converging on the practical realisation and continued advancement of lithium-ion battery systems.

Lithium-Ion Battery Cell Architecture

Core domain

Yoshino's foundational research centres on combining a lithium transition metal oxide cathode with a carbonaceous anode in a non-aqueous electrolyte system. His 1985 prototype resolved the dendrite formation and safety risks that had blocked commercialisation of lithium-based batteries, enabling the modern LIB industry.

  • The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery (2012, 1,024 citations)
  • Development of a Lithium-Type Advanced Energy Storage Device (2004)
  • The Lithium-ion Battery: Two Breakthroughs in Development (2022)
Electrochemistry · Energy Storage · Materials Science

Polymer & Separator Materials

Key domain

A recurring theme across Yoshino's published work is the role of polymer materials in battery performance, including binder polymers, separator films, and polymer electrolytes. This research leverages Asahi Kasei's deep industrial capability as a major chemical and synthetic fibre producer.

  • Next Generation Lithium Battery and Polymer Materials (2010)
  • Viewpoint of Battery Technology — polymer separator analysis
  • Development of the Lithium-Ion Battery and Recent Technological Trends (2014)
Polymer Chemistry · Separator Films · Binder Technology

Advanced Electrolytes for Next-Generation Batteries

Active research

Post-Nobel research from Yoshino's group focuses on acetonitrile-containing electrolyte systems to improve ionic conductivity for high-power applications, with specific investigation of electrode protection additives and electrolyte decomposition mechanisms on the negative electrode.

  • Moderately Concentrated Acetonitrile-containing Electrolytes (2021)
  • From polyacetylene to carbonaceous anodes (2021)
  • Next-generation LIB electrolyte systems for EV and grid storage
Electrolyte Chemistry · Ionic Conductivity · Next-Gen LIB
Most Cited Works

Akira Yoshino's Highest-Impact Research

The 2012 review "The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery" has accumulated 1,024 citations, making it one of the most referenced documents in the entire field of electrochemical energy storage. Note: some indexed papers require disambiguation from other authors sharing the Yoshino name.

Title Year Citations Institution Attribution
The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery 2012 1,024 ↑ Asahi Kasei Corporation Confirmed
Size-Based Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells 2013 169 ↑ Shizuoka Cancer Center / TUAT Disambiguate
Development of a Lithium-Type Advanced Energy Storage Device 2004 105 ↑ Asahi Kasei EMD Corporation Confirmed
Speciation of Arsenic Trioxide Metabolites 2012 83 ↑ Nihon University Disambiguate
A Prototype Aerial Radiation Monitoring System Using GAGG Scintillator 2015 82 ↑ Tohoku University / Furukawa Co. Disambiguate
The Lithium-ion Battery: Two Breakthroughs in Development 2022 67 ↑ Asahi Kasei Corporation Confirmed
Development of the Lithium-Ion Battery and Recent Technological Trends 2014 51 ↑ Asahi Kasei Corp. Confirmed
Field Test Around Fukushima Using Ce:GAGG Compton Camera 2016 45 ↑ Tohoku University / JAEA Disambiguate
View All 628+ Indexed Papers
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Development of the LIB and Recent Trends (2014) Moderately Concentrated Acetonitrile Electrolytes (2021) + 620+ more
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Research Themes

Akira Yoshino's Intellectual Contributions by Theme

628+ indexed papers organise into three primary research clusters, anchored by Yoshino's definitive contributions to lithium-ion battery science at Asahi Kasei Corporation.

⚡ LIB Fundamentals & Commercialisation

The core body of work unambiguously attributed to Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei traces the intellectual journey from the 1985 prototype through commercialisation and ongoing innovation. Key papers include the landmark 2012 review (1,024 citations), the 2004 energy storage device paper, the 2014 technological trends survey, the 2021 polyacetylene-to-anode essay, and the 2022 Nobel retrospective — all documenting the foundational architecture of the modern lithium-ion cell.

🧪 Polymer Chemistry & Separator Technology

Yoshino's 2010 review "Next Generation Lithium Battery and Polymer Materials" and companion papers explore binder polymers, separator films, and polymer electrolytes — areas where Asahi Kasei's heritage as a synthetic fibre and chemical producer provides unique industrial depth. This thread connects battery engineering directly to textile and polymer chemistry, a distinctive feature of Yoshino's research context within Asahi Kasei's broader corporate capabilities.

🔬 Next-Generation Electrolyte Chemistry

Post-Nobel publications from Yoshino's group — including the 2021 paper on moderately concentrated acetonitrile-containing electrolytes co-authored with Asahi Kasei's Next Generation Battery Strategy Department — demonstrate continued active research into advanced electrolyte systems for high-power EV and grid storage applications. Electrode protection additives and electrolyte decomposition on the negative electrode are the specific technical challenges under investigation.

Institutional Network

Akira Yoshino's Research Affiliations & Collaborating Institutions

Yoshino's confirmed research output is anchored at Asahi Kasei Corporation in Fuji City, Shizuoka, with collaborating institutions across Japan spanning university research centres and corporate R&D divisions.

Institutional affiliations in Akira Yoshino's confirmed research: Asahi Kasei Corporation=primary, Asahi Kasei EMD Corporation=secondary, Asahi Kasei Next Gen Battery Strategy=active Horizontal bar chart showing the key institutional affiliations in Akira Yoshino's confirmed research output, based on PatSnap Eureka literature data. Asahi Kasei Corp. Primary Asahi Kasei EMD Secondary Next Gen Battery Div. Active (post-2019) Yoshino Laboratory Fuji City, Shizuoka Digital Value Div. Recent collab.

Key Research Locations

Yoshino's confirmed research is concentrated within Asahi Kasei Corporation's facilities in Fuji City, Shizuoka, Japan — the address listed on the landmark 2012 review. Collaborating institutions span Asahi Kasei's internal divisions, with recent post-Nobel publications involving the company's Next Generation Battery Strategy Department and Digital Value Co-Creation Division, signalling ongoing corporate investment in advanced LIB research.

🇯🇵 Asahi Kasei Corporation · Primary 🏭 Asahi Kasei EMD Corp. · Materials 🔬 Yoshino Laboratory · Fuji City ⚡ Next Gen Battery Strategy Dept. 💻 Digital Value Co-Creation Div.
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For IP Professionals

Why Akira Yoshino's Portfolio Matters

Strategic implications for patent attorneys, in-house IP teams, R&D strategists, and technology transfer professionals working in energy storage, EV, and materials science.

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FTO Considerations

Any freedom-to-operate analysis in the lithium-ion battery space — covering cell design, carbonaceous anode materials, polymer separator films, or non-aqueous electrolyte systems — must account for Yoshino's foundational contributions and the substantial Asahi Kasei patent estate derived from his laboratory. The three core technology domains (LIB cell architecture, polymer/separator materials, advanced electrolytes) represent the highest-density prior art zones for any new LIB-adjacent filing.

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Prior Art Relevance

The 2012 review "The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery" (1,024 citations) functions as a comprehensive map of the foundational IP landscape and will appear in virtually any novelty search in the LIB domain. The 2004 paper on composite carbon anode architectures (105 citations, Asahi Kasei EMD) is directly relevant to prior art for anode material patents. IP professionals must also apply the institutional disambiguation filter — Asahi Kasei / Yoshino Laboratory / Fuji City — to exclude unrelated Yoshino-named authors from prior art analysis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Akira Yoshino: Common Questions Answered

The indexed literature database returns over 628 results associated with the name Akira Yoshino. A significant subset of these are unambiguously attributed to the Nobel laureate at Asahi Kasei Corporation, including key reviews on lithium-ion battery development. Other results reflect common Japanese name patterns — particularly from Tohoku University scintillator research and Japanese clinical oncology — and should be reviewed carefully for accurate attribution using the institutional filter: Asahi Kasei Corporation, Yoshino Laboratory, Fuji City, Shizuoka.
The most cited paper directly attributed to Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei is "The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery", published in 2012, which has accumulated 1,024 citations. It remains one of the foundational reference documents in battery science and provides a definitive account of how the core problems of aqueous electrolyte voltage limitations and lithium dendrite formation were solved through the shift to non-aqueous systems and carbonaceous anodes.
Yoshino's core specialisation is lithium-ion battery cell architecture, with particular depth in carbonaceous anode materials, polymer separator and binder chemistry, non-aqueous electrolyte systems, and next-generation energy storage devices. His work bridges fundamental electrochemistry, materials science, and industrial-scale battery manufacturing. Post-Nobel research from his group at Asahi Kasei focuses on acetonitrile-containing electrolytes for high-power applications.
Yoshino received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with John B. Goodenough and M. Stanley Whittingham, for the development of lithium-ion batteries. His specific contribution was the invention of the first safe, commercially viable LIB prototype in 1985, most critically the development of a carbonaceous anode material — derived from polyacetylene research — that eliminated the dendrite formation and safety risks associated with lithium metal anodes, making the technology suitable for mass-market commercialisation.
Asahi Kasei Corporation is the primary institution. Yoshino spent his core research career there, leading the Yoshino Laboratory at the company's Fuji City, Shizuoka facility, and subsequently serving as Honorary Fellow. His published papers consistently list Asahi Kasei addresses and affiliations across a career spanning more than four decades. The Yoshino Laboratory address — 2-1, Samejima, Fuji City, Shizuoka 416-8501, Japan — is the definitive institutional identifier for attribution purposes.
Yes. Papers co-authored with Yoshino and published as recently as 2021 — including work on moderately concentrated acetonitrile-containing electrolytes from Asahi Kasei's Next Generation Battery Strategy Department — indicate continued active research engagement in advanced lithium-ion battery chemistry following the 2019 Nobel Prize. His 2021 essay "From polyacetylene to carbonaceous anodes" and the 2022 Nobel retrospective paper further confirm ongoing intellectual engagement with the field.

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References & External Sources

  • Yoshino, A. (2012). The Birth of the Lithium-Ion Battery. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Asahi Kasei Corporation. PatSnap Eureka record
  • Yoshino, A. (2004). Development of a Lithium-Type Advanced Energy Storage Device. Asahi Kasei EMD Corporation. PatSnap Eureka record
  • Yoshino, A. (2022). The Lithium-ion Battery: Two Breakthroughs in Development and Two Reasons for the Nobel Prize. Asahi Kasei Corporation. PatSnap Eureka record
  • Nobel Prize Committee (2019). The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 — Scientific Background. nobelprize.org
  • USPTO Patent Full-Text Database. uspto.gov
  • European Patent Office — Espacenet Patent Search. espacenet.com
  • WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty Database. patentscope.wipo.int

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