John Goodenough was born to American parents in Jena, Germany. After studying mathematics at Yale University, he served during the Second World War as a meteorologist in the US Army. He then studied at the University of Chicago, receiving a doctorate in physics there in 1952. He subsequently worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Oxford University in Great Britain. Since 1986 he has been a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Storing electrical energy in batteries is a key factor in solving the world's energy supply. The element lithium is useful in batteries since it willingly releases electrons. In 1980 John Goodenough developed a lithium battery with a cathode of cobalt oxide, which, at a molecular level, has spaces that can house lithium ions. This cathode gave a higher voltage than earlier batteries. Goodenough's contributions were crucial for the development of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in for example mobile phones and electric cars.