Preface

For the entire duration of human history, man has sought sources of energy that can be used to improve their work and lifestyle. Indeed, since prehistory initial rudimentary researches were focused on the use of human/animal forces or the combustion of wood or, in general, of biomass for the production of work. Going forward with time, many other sources of energy were exploited, such as wind and water to move the blades of the mills. Nowadays, the presence of numerous sources makes the energy available in large quantities and at low prices. This enabled significant infrastructure development and a sharp acceleration of the industrialization process. On the other hand, the evolution of society is leading to an increasing need of energy, thus it is necessary to evaluate all the problems related to this enormous demand. In this context, it is evident that the necessity to find abundant, clean and cheap energy sources is one of the priorities of the twenty-first century. Currently, the energy demand is fulfilled almost only thanks to fossil fuels and, to a lesser degree, by nuclear power. Various technologies are under development to use renewable sources readily available in nature, such as wind and solar energies, waste biomass combustion products, geothermal energy or the one coming from the motion of sea currents. Nevertheless, the sources of sustainable energy are intermittent and/or restricted in specific areas; as a result, they require the use of suitable technologies for energy storage. After these considerations, it is clearly evident that reliable methods for storing energy are fundamental and secondary lithium-ion batteries have all the characteristics to be one of the most attractive solutions. The present battery technology based on lithium outperforms many other conventional systems, such as the lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries, because of its high energy and power density. The Li-ion battery is a compact, lightweight, rechargeable power source stable to over 1000 charge/discharge cycles. It can be fabricated in size ranging from few microns to a large-scale battery capable of providing power for computer memory chips, communication equipment, colour motion pictures and, potentially, for the huge market of electric vehicles (EV) and