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Battery technology has advanced at extraordinary speed over the past decade, yet meeting the world’s accelerating electrification needs will require both continued evolution of lithium-ion systems and further progress in next-generation chemistries, writes Peter Bruce.
Electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) — an emerging approach using electricity to produce useful molecules — has advanced enormously over the past ten years. However, to progress further, we must move away from the traditional static description of catalytic surfaces, argues Beatriz Roldan Cuenya.
To curb greenhouse gas emissions from conventional vapour compression cooling technologies, it is necessary to develop refrigerants with low global warming potential and solid-state caloric cooling devices, argues Ichiro Takeuchi.
Martin Green discusses how, over the past decade — and continuing today — we have witnessed a rapid increase in solar photovoltaic installations, a sharp decline in costs, and swift transitions in the dominant market technologies.
Financial support and research must concentrate on levelling the playing field to ensure emerging and developing economies will benefit from electrification, argues Florian Egli.
After years of technical advances and billions in public funding, carbon capture’s promise now depends on creative alliances — between incumbents and innovators, across borders and sectors — to safeguard past investments and deliver lasting climate impact, writes Jennifer Wilcox.
Wind variability, turbine wake effects, and extreme events are not just challenges but opportunities to deepen our understanding of the atmosphere and enhance the resilience of wind energy systems, argues Julie Lundquist.
The hydrogen ecosystem has developed substantially over the past decade, yet investment volatility and other challenges will require a reinvigorated and cohesive effort to enable success, writes Sunita Satyapal.
Transport electrification is reshaping energy and mobility systems while posing infrastructure, supply chain, and societal challenges that demand bold, interconnected research, argues Patrick Plötz.
A wide range of policies and actions can be used to address energy insecurity, and there are many actors and institutions to carry them out. This Perspective provides an overview of the many levers, or opportunities, that electricity sector actors have to reduce energy insecurity and affordability in the United States.
Eutectic aqueous–organic electrolytes enable highly reversible zinc–manganese batteries without acid addition. By regulating the water-bonding network, beneficial manganese oxide phases are deposited and stripped while gas formation is suppressed, achieving ultraextended cycling.
Sluggish interfacial charge transfer in Li-metal batteries limits ultrafast charging and causes side reactions. The authors design solvent molecules to enhance Li⁺ coordination, improving the charge-transfer kinetics and enabling stable high-rate cycling of Li-metal cells.
As Europe gradually phases out its fossil-fuel imports, some producer economies face rising risks. With careful management, the European Union can turn this shift into an opportunity to advance both climate leadership and geopolitical stability.
Metal halide perovskites exhibit anharmonic lattice vibrations, which lead to high rates of thermal expansion in solar cells. In this Review, Julian A. Steele links the atomistic origins of these effects to the macroscopic thermo-mechanical properties of the materials and devices.
Ion–solvent interactions at battery interfaces share parallels with solvation effects in catalysis. This analysis examines how interfacial solvation structures influence interphase formation and charge transfer, offering insights into electrochemical behaviour under complex conditions.
Perovskite photovoltaics could benefit from insights gained through the longer history of other photovoltaic technologies. In this Perspective, Bermudez and colleagues examine how lessons from the successes and failures of copper indium gallium selenide solar cells can guide future progress.
Households that manually manage thermostats keep homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer than those using automated smart thermostat features, leading to increased energy use and costs. Expanding equitable access to smart thermostats and supporting behavioural engagement could improve indoor thermal comfort, reduce energy costs, and narrow disparities in thermal safety.
Smart thermostats and programmed temperature settings support more efficient heating and cooling. New research finds that renters, low-income and Black households are less likely to have this technology in the USA.
Regulating hydrothermal reaction kinetics using sodium sulfide achieves a flattened valence band maximum across the Sb2(S,Se)3 film, lifting the potential barrier for hole transport while suppressing deep-level defect formation and reducing trap centres. This strategy enables Sb2(S,Se)3 solar cells to reach a certified record efficiency of 10.7%.
