Karl Kordesch (18 March 1922 – 12 January 2011) was an Austrian chemist and inventor, most notable for jointly inventing the alkaline battery.

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.

He led two research groups: one concerned with the development of manganese dioxide batteries, the other devoted to fuel cells.

[3] Another fundamental contribution that changed the battery world was the creation of the thin carbon fuel cell electrode.

[4][5] In 1970 he fitted his own Austin A40 with a hydrogen fuel cell (ammonia being too hard to come by), and used the adapted vehicle as his personal transportation for over three years.

In total he filed 120 patents, as well as producing numerous books and over 200 publications, all on the topic of batteries and fuel cells.