Volume 2 Issue 11, November 2017

Using cheap organic material as the cathode and abundant sodium as the charge carrier is attractive for sustainable battery technologies. Now, highly reversible four-sodium storage in a nano-sized disodium rhodizonate organic cathode is achieved.

Understanding how subsidies affect fossil-fuel investment returns and production is crucial to commencing new reforms. New analysis on the impact of subsidies on US crude-oil producers finds that, at recent oil prices of around US$50 per barrel, tax preferences and other subsidies push nearly half of new oil investments into profitability.

Kesterite solar cells are low-cost alternatives for photovoltaics, based only on abundant metals, but they exhibit limited voltages. A new wide-gap kesterite solar cell provides a much higher voltage at a good efficiency.

For proton-conducting metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to find application as the electrolyte in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, materials with better stability and conductivity are required. Now, a structurally flexible MOF that is also highly stable is demonstrated to possess high proton conductivity over a range of humidities.

The Eastring gas pipeline intends to connect Slovakia with southern and eastern European states in light of other infrastructural changes in the region. Misik and Nosko argue that neither perceived loss of energy security nor loss of rents from gas transit should be the main drivers behind the project.

Transparency offers integration routes unavailable to opaque photovoltaics. Here, Lunt and co-workers review recent progress in transparent solar technologies, highlight technical challenges and measurement considerations, and review performance requirements for various applications.

Sodium-ion batteries are a cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion for large-scale energy storage. Here Bao et al. develop a cathode based on biomass-derived ionic crystals that enables a four-sodium ion storage mechanism leading to exceptionally high specific capacity and energy density.

Hydrogenation of CO₂ over heterogeneous catalysts can produce useful energy vectors such as methanol and formic acid. Here the authors show that the activity of unsupported cobalt catalysts can be markedly enhanced through incorporation of nitrogen atoms into the structure.

Proton-conducting metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could be used as the electrolytes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells but chemically stable materials that perform well at low humidity are still sought. Here the authors prepare a stable, structurally flexible MOF that maintains high proton conductivity under a wide range of humidity.

Kesterite thin-film solar cells feature abundant non-toxic elements. Here, Antunez et al. present a process to simultaneously optimize the conversion efficiency and voltage over a wide range of light intensities appropriate for small-scale, distributed and indoor applications.

Governments give a variety of subsidies to fossil fuel companies, but G20 nations have committed to phasing these out. Erickson et al. analyse subsidies provided to new crude oil fields in the US and find that, at current oil prices, nearly half of them depend on these subsidies to proceed.