Positive-electrode materials for lithium and lithium-ion batteries are briefly reviewed in chronological order. Emphasis is given to lithium insertion materials and their background relating to the “birth” of lithium-io. The lithium-ion battery was “born” in 1991 and grew rapidly as the power source of choice for portable electronic devices, especially wireless telephones and laptop computers, durin. Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It has the most negative electrode. Because electrodes of the first kind are reversible electrodes, rechargeable lithium batteries had been examined since the early 1970s. Electrodes of the first kind, however, have n. Lithium-ion batteries consist of two lithium insertion materials, one for the negative electrode and a different one for the positive electrode in an electrochemical cell. Fig. 1 depict. In 1991, Sony announced new batteries, called lithium-ion batteries, which strongly impacted the battery community all over the world because of their high operating voltage.