Karl Kordesch
| Karl Kordesch | |
|---|---|
Karl Kordesch, 2003
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| Born |
March 18, 1922 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | January 12, 2011 (aged 88) Eugene, Oregon, USA |
| Residence | Vienna, Lakewood, Ohio, Toronto, Canada, Graz, Austria, Athens, Ohio, Eugene, Oregon |
| Citizenship | Austria, USA |
| Fields | Alkaline battery, fuel cells, electric vehicles |
| Institutions | Eveready, Union Carbide, Graz University of Technology, BTI, Apollo Energy Systems |
| Alma mater | University of Vienna |
| Known for | Invention of alkaline battery |
| Notable awards | Wilhelm Exner Medal, 1967 |
Karl Kordesch (18 March 1922 – 12 January 2011) was an Austrian chemist and inventor, most notable for jointly inventing the alkaline battery.
Kordesch was born in Vienna. He studied chemistry and physics at the University of Vienna, and earned his doctoral degree in 1948. From 1948–53 he worked at the university's Chemical Institute. He was then recruited as a member of Operation Paperclip and moved to the United States, where from 1953–55 he was head of the Battery Division of the U.S. Signal Corps in Fort Monmouth. In 1955 he joined Union Carbide in Ohio, working with two fellow Austrians. He led two research groups: one concerned with the development of manganese dioxide batteries, the other devoted to fuel cells. During this time Kordesch filed 22 patents.
In 1957, Karl Kordesch, Paul A. Marsal and Lewis Urry filed US patent (2,960,558) for the alkaline dry cell battery, which eventually became the D-sized Eveready Energizer battery. It was granted in 1960.
Another fundamental contribution that changed the battery world was the creation of the thin carbon fuel cell electrode. He presented a fuel cell demonstration at the Brussels World Fair in 1958, using a suitcase with a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. His development of thin electrodes for fuel cells came soon thereafter.
In 1967 he built a fuel cell/NiCad battery hybrid electric motorcycle. The motorcycle was featured in television commercials for the program 21st Century, hosted by Walter Cronkite. He relished telling people how he had to join the actors' union to ride in the commercials. It was fitted with a hydrazine fuel cell, capable of 200 miles to the U.S. gallon.
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