Three scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries, which have reshaped energy storage and transformed cars, mobile phones and many other devices in an increasingly portable and electronic world.

Key points: At 97, Professor Goodenough is the oldest winner in the Nobel Prize's history

At 97, Professor Goodenough is the oldest winner in the Nobel Prize's history The Nobel Prize committee said lithium-ion batteries had "revolutionised our lives"

The Nobel Prize committee said lithium-ion batteries had "revolutionised our lives" The rechargeable batteries are used in a wide variety of portable and electronic devices

The prize went to John B Goodenough of the University of Texas, M Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton, and Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei Corporation and Meijo University in Japan.

At 97, Professor Goodenough is the oldest winner in the Nobel Prize's history.

Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was about "a rechargeable world".

In a statement, the Nobel committee said lithium-ion batteries had "revolutionised our lives" and the laureates had "laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society".

The committee said the lithium-ion battery had its roots in the 1970s oil crisis, when Professor Whittingham was working to develop fossil fuel-free energy technologies.

The 2019 Nobel prizes each come with a 9-million kronor ($1.34 million) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma that are conferred on December 10 in Stockholm and Oslo.

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Prize founder Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist who invented dynamite, decided the physics, chemistry, medicine and literature prizes should be awarded in Stockholm, and the peace prize in Oslo.

On Tuesday, Canadian-born James Peebles won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his theoretical discoveries in cosmology, together with Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, who were honoured for finding an exoplanet — a planet outside our solar system — that orbits a solar-type star.

Americans William G Kaelin Jr and Gregg L Semenza and Britain's Peter J Ratcliffe won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. They were lauded for their discovery of "how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability".

Two literature laureates will be announced on Thursday because last year's award was suspended after a scandal rocked the Swedish academy.

The winner of the coveted Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and the economics award on Monday.

AP/ Reuters