Announcement of NIMS Award 2026 Winners

Prof. Ryoji Kanno and Prof. Masahiro Tatsumisago pioneered the path leading to high-performance all-solid-state batteries through the development of sulfide-based ion-conducting solid materials and the elucidation of their conduction mechanisms.
Prof. Kanno paved the way for crystalline solid electrolytes exhibiting high ionic conductivity, whereas Prof. Tatsumisago pioneered the development of amorphous solid electrolytes. These achievements have led to industrial applications, including automotive batteries and stationary energy storage systems, as a key technology for realizing safe and high-energy-density next-generation batteries, and have become an important technological foundation for achieving a carbon-neutral society. Both have made worldwide impacts on all-solid-state battery research and its practical applications, as befit the aim of the NIMS Award 2026.

The ceremony and recipients’ lectures for the NIMS Award 2026 will take place during the “NIMS Award Symposium 2026 - Engineering the Future of Solid State Batteries,” to be held on Tuesday, November 10 at the Tsukuba International Congress Center. The award-winning lectures will be delivered with the following titles:

Between Electrochemistry and Materials Science —The Road from Ionic Conductor to Solid-State Batteries—
by Prof. Ryoji Kanno
Development of Glass-Based Inorganic Solid Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Batteries
by Prof. Masahiro Tatsumisago

Established in 2007, this international award is annually presented to individual researchers or groups from one of the four major areas of materials science: 1. Environmental and Energy Materials, 2. Functional Materials, 3. Structural Materials, and 4. Basic Materials Science. The selection is based on a specific theme set each year and is conducted through a recommendation and rigorous assessment by a committee consisting of leading experts.　 Focusing on the area of environmental and energy materials, this year’s selection was conducted under the theme of “Energy Storage Materials”

The event honors the achievements of its winners and promotes academic exchange by bringing together researchers from around the world engaged in cutting-edge research. As in the previous year, the Symposium for 2026 will be held at the Tsukuba International Congress Center and will feature an award ceremony, the award-winning lectures, invited talks, and presentations by NIMS researchers.
Please visit the official website for details.