Asahi Kasei Honorary Fellow Akira Yoshino receives the European Inventor Award 2019
June 20, 2019
Asahi Kasei Corp.
Asahi Kasei Honorary Fellow Dr. Akira Yoshino has received the European Inventor Award 2019 from the European Patent Office (EPO) in the category of Non-EPO countries for his invention and refinement of the lithium-ion battery. The award ceremony was held on June 20, 2019, in Vienna, Austria.
Dr. Akira Yoshino receives the award
Launched by the EPO in 2006, the European Inventor Award annually honors individual inventors and teams of inventors for their contribution towards technical progress, social development, and economic prosperity. It is awarded in the five categories of Industry, Research, Non-EPO countries, Small and medium-sized enterprises, and Lifetime achievement, along with the Popular Prize which is chosen from among the finalists by online voting on the EPO website.
Dr. Yoshino is the third Japanese winner of the European Inventor Award, following Dr. Sumio Iijima et al. in 2015 for the discovery and development of carbon nanotubes (Non-EPO countries), and a team led by Masahiro Hara in 2014 for the development of the QR code (Popular Prize). Please refer to the European Inventor Award website for more information:
Dr. Yoshino commented “I am greatly honored to receive this year's European Inventor Award. It was gratifying that the EPO President said my invention significantly impacted society. I hope that my accomplishment will help make the name of Asahi Kasei well known throughout Europe. The series of events associated with this award reminded me of how concerned European people are about environment