Volume 11 Issue 3, March 2026

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.

Every paper we publish is shaped by a dedicated team of production, art, copy, and editorial staff who guide it from submission to publication. This Q&A series highlights their behind-the-scenes work — here we speak with Robert Parker, Production Editor at the journal, about his responsibilities and how they fit into the broader editorial workflow.

Every paper we publish is shaped by a dedicated team of production, art, copy, and editorial staff who guide it from submission to publication. This Q&A series highlights their behind-the-scenes work — here we speak with Thomas Phillips, Art Editor at the journal, about his responsibilities and how they fit into the broader editorial workflow.

Every paper we publish is shaped by a dedicated team of production, art, copy, and editorial staff who guide it from submission to publication. This Q&A series highlights their behind-the-scenes work. Here, we speak with Kevin Sheridan, Subeditor at the journal, about his responsibilities and how they fit into the broader editorial workflow.

Every paper we publish is shaped by a dedicated team of production, art, copy, and editorial staff who guide it from submission to publication. This Q&A series highlights their behind-the-scenes work — here we speak with Katilyn Brown, Editorial Assistant at the journal, about her responsibilities and how they fit into the broader editorial workflow.

The application of Li-metal batteries is limited by parasitic interfacial reactions that slow charge transfer at the anode. A tailored electrolyte that forms a planar Li⁺–solvent complex with aligned electron channels overcomes this barrier, enabling fast reduction kinetics under demanding conditions.

Sodium-ion batteries face a volumetric disadvantage because dense anodes often lose electrical connectivity during cycling. A dense alloy anode is now designed to maintain connectivity, enabling ampere-hour-class pouch cells with higher volumetric energy density and longer cycle life.

Salinity gradients can be converted into electrical energy via charge-selective membranes, yet controlling the solid–liquid interfacial properties at the nanometre scale remains a key challenge. Now, highly charged nanopores coated with a lipid bilayer are shown to enable hydration lubrication, enhancing ion transport, selectivity and osmotic power generation.

The pursuit of high-energy-density batteries is often limited by slurry-based processing, because thicker electrodes suffer from reaction heterogeneity. Now, by molecularly engineering the carbon–binder network, a dry electrode architecture is introduced that enables stable high-voltage operation without the need to redesign active materials or the electrolyte.

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.

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%.

Substantial heterogeneity is evident in stances towards the development of aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) systems in the UK. An assessment of individual preferences reveals substantial valuations of specific ATES characteristics that are nevertheless modified by latent attitudes regarding systemic and local benefits, safety concerns, information provision, and policy support.

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.

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.

Cations play a crucial role in electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ and CO to fuels and chemicals, influencing activity and selectivity. This Review explores their effects as indirect mediators, energetic modulators and electron-transfer participants, highlighting key mechanistic insights and knowledge gaps.

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.

Controlling the hydrothermal reaction kinetics during the fabrication of Sb₂(S,Se)₃ solar cells is challenging. Chen Qian et al. show that sodium sulfide buffers the pH and allows a controlled release of Se, enabling a certified efficiency of 10.7%.

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.

Self-assembled monolayers are efficient hole-selective contacts but suffer from aggregation and adhesion issues. To address these, Wang et al. introduce a dimeric molecular design that forms a hydrogen-bond network, enabling 28.4% certified efficiency in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Alloy anodes can boost the energy density of Na-ion batteries but suffer from instability, and current strategies trade off performance and scalability. Here the authors develop a high-loading Sn anode reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotube networks, achieving high capacity and long-term cycling performance.

Selenization is a key step in kesterite solar cell fabrication, but controlling ion migration during this process is challenging. Cui et al. address this issue by introducing a Li₂SnS₃ interphase, achieving a certified power conversion efficiency of 15.0%.

Salinity gradients can be converted into electrical energy via charge-selective membranes. Here the authors report a nanofluidic system based on stalactite nanopore membranes functionalized with charged lipid bilayers for osmotic energy harvesting with enhanced ion transport and charge separation efficiency.

Survey and discrete choice experiment data reveal substantial heterogeneity in the UK public’s stance towards aquifer thermal energy storage deployment and in preferences for deployment characteristics that vary with latent attitudes.

Conventional slurry electrodes limit high-energy lithium batteries. This work shows that dry-processed electrodes with molecularly coupled carbon–binder networks enable high mass and active material loading, supporting stable high-voltage operation and enhancing battery energy density.