A Chinese scientist has won the prestigious European Inventor Award for making an electric vehicle battery that's 90 percent recyclable and which massively reduces the risk of fires in the cars.  China's Kai Wu was awarded the accolade in the Spanish city of Valencia, taking the top prize in the European Inventor Awards international category.

His invention is a brand new lithium-ion smart battery cap design that greatly reduces the risk of fires and explosions in electric vehicles (EVS).

READ MORE

China in pole position to surge into Europe's EV market

How these European co-operatives inspired the world

Chinese EV makers caught rivals "asleep at the wheel"

His company CATL's groundbreaking work in NingDe, China, is also helping the global green transition to EVs become reality.

"This power battery represents a cleaner, safer, greener energy solution. In the case of lithium batteries we have overcome some critical issues, primarily overheating with an internal short circuit," Wu told CGTN Europe. 

The automotive industry has been racing to develop EVs in recent years, with China at the forefront of the industry and in 2018, advances in Li-ion cells were responsible for 45 percent of patenting activity related to the cars' vital batteries. 

However, while EVs are less likely to ignite than combustion engines, fires in Li-ion batteries burn hotter and faster. That means they require more water to be extinguished and can reignite hours or days later.

Working on the issue since 2019, Wu and his team have managed to solve some of these issues with a series of solutions, including a safety device that short-circuits overcharged batteries. 

While he couldn't make the ceremony in Valencia personally, a Chinese member of the team was there, who thanked the European Patent Office which created the awards back in 2006. 

"Our goal is to make high quality technology accessible across globe and help to achieve international sustainability goals," the CATL team representative said. "This award is shining a path forward to more innovation from CATL and we hope to work with more like-minded scientists and engineers around the world."

Kai Wu and CATL have been working on making batteries safer since 2011, taking on the major issue of overcharging and overheating. Competition for the Chinese team included an Australian invention that helps people with paralysis control their computers with their minds.

And in the Young Inventors category, Kenya's Richard Turere took the top prize for a device that helps save lions and protect farmers' livelihoods.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday