2025 Charles Hatchett Award winners announced

Recognizing excellence in Niobium research for energy storage applications

CBMM is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Charles Hatchett Award, recognizing the best paper on the science and technology of Niobium-bearing materials. This year’s award goes to:

Soyeong Yun, Junwoo Yu, Wontae Lee, Hayeon Lee and Won-Sub Yoon, from Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea, for their outstanding paper:

“Achieving structural stability and enhanced electrochemical performance through Nb-doping into Li- and Mn-rich layered cathode for lithium-ion batteries.”
Royal Society of Chemistry: Materials Horizons, Vol. 10, No. 3, March 2023.

Niobium for high-performance cathode materials

As the demand for electric mobility and energy storage grows, lithium ion batteries continue to face challenges such as limited mileage, high cost, and structural degradation over time. Improving battery performance depends heavily on the development of more efficient and stable electrode materials.

The awarded research investigates Nb-doping in Li- and Mn-rich layered cathodes, a promising solution for improving lithium ion battery performance. The benefits of Niobium doping include:

• Improved structural stability and electrochemical performance.
• Enhanced Li⁺ diffusion and ionic conductivity.
• Stronger metal–oxygen bonding, reducing voltage decay.

These findings confirm Niobium’s role as a strategic material in enabling high performance, cost-efficient batteries.

A global recognition of scientific excellence

The Charles Hatchett Award selects the most impactful research involving Niobium alloys, oxides, and compounds — spanning sectors such as oil and gas, aerospace, automotive, construction, biomedical, electronics, energy generation and storage and chemical applications including catalysts and glass products.

In the past five years, four award-winning papers have focused on battery materials and energy storage, reflecting the growing relevance of Niobium in this field.

The Charles Hatchett Award is sponsored by CBMM | Niobium and recognises the best published research on the science and technology of Niobium.

The annual Award, now in its 47th year, is sponsored by CBMM with administrative support from Beta Technology.

The lead author will be presented with the Charles Hatchett medal at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) 2025 Premier Awards Dinner, to be held in London on 4th December 2025.