Thanks to their improved performance and the continuous decrease of their manufacturing costs, lithium batteries, initially marketed in 1991 by SONY to power portable equipment, now play a key role in the expected massive development of electric mobility. Connected to the electricity grid via the electrified vehicles they will power, lithium batteries will also be used as a massive means of buffering renewable energies,as well as tools for supporting the network (peak shaving, frequencyregulation, etc.), making it possible to multiply their usefulness beyond their primary function (ensuring vehicle mobility).

These developments will profoundly transform our societies, and will not only make it possible to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal), butalso, if they are conducted and coordinated effectively, to contribute to economic growth. The development of electric mobility thus offers a unique opportunity to reconcile legitimate environmental protection requirements with industrial development objectives.

The aim of this book is to provide the reader with an overview of lithium battery technologies, to give an overview of current initiatives around the world, and to outline some perspectives for the future.

The authors of this book, who are researchers at the CEA and the CNRS, all have expertise based on several years of experience in the development of lithium batteries and post-lithium ion batteries, covering all the elements of the value chain, from the design and synthesis of electrode materials to integration in the vehicle.