The Big Jump from the Legs of a Frog [Historical]

In recent years, we have witnessed growth in the importance of electrochemical storage for both stationary and mobile applications. With regard to the former, we have seen that the increasing penetration of intermittent renewable sources and of smart grids requires energy storage capabilities suitable for providing services with different technoeconomical horizons, such as sag compensation, frequency regulation, power smoothing, load leveling, load following, grid stabilization, power balancing, peak shaving, and time shifting up to investment deferral. With regard to the latter, the tremendous worldwide success of mobile electronics (cell phones, smartphones, laptops, etc.) in part relies on batteries capable of high power and energy densities. An even wider market expansion is expected in the coming years from electric vehicles, which demand batteries that feature high ranges at low costs. In this framework, intense efforts are being devoted to the development of improved batteries, with the aim of capturing a market that is expected to boom in the coming decades [1], [2]. However, apart from being expected to thrive in a bright future, batteries also boast a glorious past.