Michel Armand (born 1946)[1] is a French scientist who is best known for introducing the concept of a rocking-chair battery in 1978.
In 1970 he started his PhD studies at Stanford University with Robert Huggins as a Fulbright Scholar.
Armand felt that the Stanford laboratory was focused too much on fundamental studies, while he wanted to develop practical batteries.
[4] While in graduate school, Armand was determined to find a practical way to intercalate lithium and potassium ions into graphite.
However, the lack of a suitable positive intercalation electrode material prevented commercialization of that invention at that time.