Volume 8 Issue 7, July 2023

Supercapacitors have made significant strides in electrochemical performance improvements, yet integrating them into structures capable of withstanding mechanical loads has proven to be a challenge. Now, a supercapacitor based on a high-strength solid electrolyte is shown to have a high load-bearing capacity with negligible capacity loss during long-term cycling.

The wide deployment of fuel cells in transportation applications necessitates efficiency, lifetime, and cost improvements. Now, grooved electrodes with controlled design and composition address the limitations of conventional flat electrode structures, yielding improved fuel cell performance.

Contact design is a major challenge in the development of thermoelectric devices. New research shows that silver nanoparticles soldered at low temperature can sustain high service temperatures, improving the stability of devices operating across a wide range of temperatures and exploiting the maximum working temperature of thermoelectric materials.

In a lithium-ion battery, anode prelithiation can compensate for the irreversible lithium loss occurring during formation cycles, yet developing an industrially viable method has posed a challenge. Now, a scalable roll-to-roll transfer-printing process is enabling the facile fabrication of anodes with controlled extra lithium, improving battery capacity.

China’s electricity market reforms aim to improve the operational efficiency of the power sector, while simultaneously supporting reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. New research shows that the influence of local interests may limit gains to half of their estimated potential.

Transporting containerized batteries by rail between power-sector regions could aid the US electric grid in withstanding and recovering from disruption. This solution is shown to be a technically feasible and cost-effective means of ensuring grid reliability in the face of high-impact, low-frequency events.

Wind power faces numerous challenges as its role in energy systems expands, yet these are often largely seen as purely technical. This Review examines social science research connected to previously identified grand challenges in wind power and explores how a socio-technical lens can lead to improved outcomes for future wind projects.

Connecting the different layers in thermoelectric modules is challenging. Yin et al. develop a low-temperature-sintered silver nanoparticle interlayer for high-temperature operation of devices based on a variety of thermoelectric materials.

The performance of perovskite bifacial modules is still relatively poor. Now Gu et al. optimize the design of minimodules and achieve a power density of 23 mW cm⁻² at an albedo of 0.2 and operational stability of 6,000 h.

The way catalysts are arranged and interfaced to form fuel cell electrodes is just as important as the catalysts themselves. Here Lee et al. report an up to 50% increase in performance and superior durability using grooved, rather than conventional flat, electrodes for hydrogen fuel cells.

There is an intensive effort to develop Li-ion batteries that rely on sustainable materials. Here the authors employ a complex doping approach to synthesize low-Ni, Co-free cathode materials that display promising electrochemical performances.

Prelithiation can be used to address the issue of active lithium loss during lithium-ion battery operation, but its cost effectiveness needs to be improved. Here the researchers develop a roll-to-roll electrodeposition and transfer-printing system for the production of prelithiated battery anodes with high electrochemical performances.

Zhu et al. develop a low-cost donor–acceptor-type hole-selective layer that minimizes interfacial non-radiative charge recombination losses in single-junction and tandem solar cells based on metal halide perovskites with different bandgaps.

High-energy-density lithium metal batteries suffer from limited cycle life. Here the authors develop a homogeneous and mechanically stable solid–electrolyte interphase by using a trioxane-modulated electrolyte, thereby expanding battery cyclability.

Storage is an increasingly important component of electricity grids and will play a critical role in maintaining reliability. Here the authors explore the potential role that rail-based mobile energy storage could play in providing back-up to the US electricity grid.

In 2015, China introduced power sector reform to improve the performance of its electricity market. Here Xiang et al. use unit-level data from plants in southern China to explore the political challenges faced by the reform, finding preferences for local enterprises over central state-owned ones.

Emissions impacts of equitable energy demand reduction approaches are not well understood. A new study finds that capping energy use among top-quintile consumers in Europe achieves considerable emissions reductions.