The prize was established jointly by the Israeli government and Eric and Sheila Samson, an entrepreneurial couple and philanthropists. Thanks to them, the prize is one of the most endowed in the world.
The Israeli government rewarded the work on batteries of Jean-Marie Tarascon, a professor at the Collège de France since 2014. The researcher, a specialist in energy storage, has in fact just been announced as one of two winners of the "Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation 2017" or "Samson Award 2017". The prize, established in 2013, annually rewards two researchers for their innovative scientific contribution and with the potential to lead to the development of alternative energies to fossil fuels for transportation. Previous Samson Award winners have included such big names as Michael Graetzel (dye-sensitized photovoltaic cells) and John Goodenough (cathodes for Li-ion batteries). This year's winner is Jean-Marie Tarascon, Professor at the Collège de France and Director of the CNRS's Réseau sur le stockage électrochimique de l'énergie (RS2E). Over the last 30 years, his work has covered the field of energy storage across a broad spectrum and with international impact. His career, which began in the USA, has given him a taste for collaboration (public/private, interdisciplinary) and for challenging dogmas. He has been involved in both fundamental and applied research on subjects ranging from real-time analysis of the chemical reactions taking place at the heart of a battery to improving the eco-compatibility of the materials used in these same devices. Recently, he and his team unveiled the role of oxygen ions in the remarkable autonomy of a new category of battery materials. This fundamental work, published in Science and Nature Materials, opens the way to applied perspectives.
Jean-Marie Tarascon is also involved in numerous collaborations on subjects such as self-healing, sodium-ion batteries, electrolytes and more. Commenting on the award, he says: "To be recognized by one's peers for the impact of one's contributions is an honor that I want to share with my team. It's the scientific encounters that shape the researchers we become. Having the chance to pursue research in a field as fascinating as energy transition is already a joy in itself."
The 2017 Samson Award also went to Jens Nielsen, Professor of Biology at Chalmers University, for his work on biofuels (biofuel production using yeast).
