Renewable energy articles from across Nature Portfolio

The activation barriers of interfacial energy conversion reactions are key to controlling the efficiency of electrolysers. Work on the structural dynamics of water during charge transfer at electrified solid/liquid interfaces now brings greater understanding of the components of the activation barriers for water dissociation and hydrogen evolution.

Wide band gap perovskite solar cells suffer from halide segregation, which hampers their use in tandem solar cells. Now, researchers develop an additive with redox and defect passivating capabilities to suppress halide migration, enabling perovskite–organic tandems with over 25% efficiency.

Organic solar modules suffer from poor electrical contacts. Lu et al. embed the silver electrode into a polymer matrix and add chromium to enhance its electrical contact, achieving improved stability and a 14.04% efficiency on flexible modules with an active area of 41 cm².

Demonstration of high performance, upscaling and integration of ultra-lightweight perovskite solar cells are still rare. Hailegnaw et al. develop 2D perovskite solar cells based on methylbenzyl ammonium iodide with improved specific power and stability, showing scalability and integration in drones.

The correlation between asymmetric molecular geometry of non-fullerene acceptors and their optoelectronic properties was unclear. Here, the authors found asymmetric ones exhibit increased open-circuit voltage compared to their symmetric counterparts due to reduced non-radiative charge recombination.

A robust and efficient dye-sensitized NiO bio-hybrid photocathode based on a redox polymer and [FeFe]- hydrogenase has been developed to couple with a BiVO₄ photoanode for water splitting without applied bias.

A new study finds that strategically integrating floating solar panels on reservoirs could substitute 20–100% of Africa’s planned hydropower by 2050. For the Zambezi watercourse, this approach generates a more stable electricity supply compared with hydro-dominated development.

The activation barriers of interfacial energy conversion reactions are key to controlling the efficiency of electrolysers. Work on the structural dynamics of water during charge transfer at electrified solid/liquid interfaces now brings greater understanding of the components of the activation barriers for water dissociation and hydrogen evolution.

Wide band gap perovskite solar cells suffer from halide segregation, which hampers their use in tandem solar cells. Now, researchers develop an additive with redox and defect passivating capabilities to suppress halide migration, enabling perovskite–organic tandems with over 25% efficiency.

Melting polar ice could delay major time adjustment, and the strange connection between brain inflammation and memory.

House prices drop by 1% if wind turbines are close and visible, but they rebound quickly.