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Rabat – Representing America, Moroccan-born scientist Khalil Amine has been awarded the Global Energy Prize for his outstanding contribution into the development of the efficient electrical energy storage technology.
Managed by the Moscow-based Global Energy Association, the Global Energy Prize is presented each year by the President of the Russian Federation. Winners receive a prize of RUB 39 million.
Since its first ceremony in 2003, the prize has been presented to 37 laureates from 12 countries. Each of the Laureates awarded the Global Energy Prize are given a commemorative medal, a diploma, an honorary lapel gold and a monetary prize. The amount of the monetary prize amount is defined each year by the Members of the Association.
The awards process is overseen by an international committee chaired by British scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Rodney Allam.
World leaders who have supported the prize include former US President George W. Bush, former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair, and Gordon Brown, former French President Jacques Chirac, former Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper, and current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Dr. Amine is a recipient of dozens of prestigious engineering and scientific awards and prizes. Among his many awards include Scientific America’s Top 50 award, five prestigious R&D100 awards, as well a NAATBatt for lifetime scientific achievements, just to name a few.
Scientific Achievements
The scientist’s innovations have found their use in electric vehicles, smart grids, and domestic electric appliances.
NMC cathode called a “full-gradient concentration cathode,” is considered to be the scientist’s major accomplishment. At present, it is widely used in household electric appliances and in electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, Fiat Chrysler, BMW I3 and I8, as well as Ford, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai vehicles.
Dr. Amine also invented an innovative cathode where every particle has a complex structure, which increases its productivity and stability under high voltage. After the publication in Nature Material in 2012, it was licensed by several large enterprises producing batteries and cars.
The Global Prize website says, “This cathode will be the cathode of choice for the next generation lithium-ion battery for automotive and smart grid application.”
He also significantly extended the life cycle of lithium-ion accumulator batteries by inventing new electrolyte additives for cathode and anode passivation.
The anodes, cathodes, electrolytes, and technologies designed by the scientist are used by many corporations all over the world, such as BASF, LG Chemical, General Motors, Envia, Microvast, Samsung, TODA and Umicore.
Recently, Dr. Amine developed a new superoxide battery system capable of yielding up to five times more energy than lithium-ion batteries. This discovery was described in the Nature Journal and gave impetus to a new round of research aimed at increasing the energy density of batteries and reducing costs, which should lead to a sharp increase in the number of electric vehicles in the future.
Dr. Amine is also a “world champion in publications about accumulator batteries.” According to ScienceWatch analytical portal, he published 544 scientific articles in the years 2000 till 2018.
Dr. Amine is notably the most cited scientist in the world on the topic of accumulator batteries. His works have been cited over 40,000 times by various sources, indicating just how influential his research is. According to Clarivate.com, he is also the world’s most cited scientist of the decade in the sphere of energy storage elements.
He has filed 197 patents and inventions. At present, 102 patents were issued and 33 patent applications have been published in the US. In Japan, 30 patents were issued and 22 applications are undergoing publication.
Adding to his long list of achievements, Dr. Amine is a columnist of numerous scientific and popular science journals all over the world.
Dr. Khalil Amine’s professional background
Born on December 1, in 1962 in Morocco, Dr. Amine graduated from the University of Bordeaux (France) with a master’s degree in material sciences in 1986. Three years later, he received a doctorate in materials science from the National Center for Scientific Research in Bordeaux (CNRS).
From 1990-1992, he undertook postdoctoral studies in the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Physics of Materials of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and the Industrial Chemistry Department of Kyoto University in Japan.
He then worked as a group leader at the National Research Institute of Osaka, and at the Laboratory of Fundamental Technologies of the Corporative Research Center of Japan Storage Battery Company in Kyoto, Japan.
From 1998 to present day, Khalil Amine is an Argonne Distinguished Fellow and the Manager of the Advanced Lithium Battery Technology Group at Argonne National Laboratory where he is responsible for research and development of advanced materials and battery systems for electric vehicles, power supply, and satellites, military, and medical applications.
Since 2015, he has been an adjunct professor at Stanford University, while cooperating with universities in over 10 countries.
Dr. Amine is chairman of the International Association of Lithium Automotive Batteries, President of the international meeting on lithium-ion battery association (IMLB), chairman of the Supervisory Committee for the Implementation of the Japan-European Union Energy Conservation Research Initiative, and a member of numerous scientific organizations.
This year, Dr. Amine was awarded alongside Scientist Frede Blaabjerg from Denmark, who is being recognized for “outstanding technical contribution to the design of power management systems enabling the integration of renewable power.”
