Volume 5 Issue 3, March 2022

Having transformed our way of life, rechargeable batteries are poised for exponential growth over the coming decade, notably due to the wider adoption of electric vehicles. An international expert panel proposes a combination of vision, innovation and practice for feasible pathways toward sustainable batteries.

Zinc batteries are more sustainable than the currently dominating lithium technologies, but their major technical problems have yet to be fully resolved. Now a new electrolyte formulation addresses most issues and delivers rechargeable zinc batteries with both performance breakthrough and cost advantage.

Both lithium- and sodium-ion batteries could play an important role in combating climate change, but they often suffer structural instabilities in the cathodes, which degrade performance. Now a study on two cathode materials that function in either battery type sheds light on how their structure should be designed to suppress these instabilities.

The potential lithium crisis and supply shortages of other metals essential for lithium-ion batteries have driven innovation in alternative technologies. Now a study describes high-performance potassium-ion batteries that can cycle for more than 500 days with negligible performance loss.

Agriculture’s ability to feed the world is limited by land and freshwater. This Perspective argues that scaling up seaweed aquaculture is needed to accommodate the 9+ billion people expected by 2050 and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Today’s energy systems rely on rechargeable batteries but the growing demand raises environmental concerns. As more data become available, sensing can play a key role in advancing utilization strategies for new and used lithium-ion devices. This Review discusses how optical sensors can help to improve the sustainability of batteries.

Aqueous Zn batteries offer safety, but the Zn anodes are vulnerable to dendrite failure and side reaction. Here the authors show a low-cost electrolyte that involves hydrate salt and organic solvent but proves inflammable. The Zn battery cell delivers excellent performance even at a low temperature of −30 °C.

Favoured cathodes for batteries should include abundant and redox-active elements, such as manganese. Here the authors report a Na_0.6Li_0.2Mn_0.8O₂ cathode design featuring a unique layer stacking sequence that provides topological protection to oxygen redox to overcome the performance fading.

Aqueous potassium-ion batteries have emerged as a more sustainable technology to complement lithium-ion counterparts. Ge et al. engineer the surface of a potassium manganese hexacyanoferrate cathode material, achieving unprecedented electrochemical performance in full K-ion cells.

Synthetic fibres derive from petrochemicals that are not renewable and cannot be recycled. Here, the authors show a top-down synthetic strategy that allows for the production of high-performance natural macrofibres from bamboo.

The fertility transition, expressed through falling birth rates and increased well-being for women and children, is a function of many social and economic changes. This paper examines the role of access to electricity and modern cooking fuels on fertility rates, suggesting that cleaner energy and ending energy poverty contribute to gender equality and the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainability calls often for knowledge to be co-produced between academics and non-academics, but little is known about whether and how such knowledge scales up. Focusing on co-produced climate-driven decision support tools for farmers, this study examines how efforts to disseminate the tools influenced their use.

Most climate change mitigation actions do not fully incorporate the mutual relations between human and natural systems. This study presents an integrated model for understanding the role of human–natural systems interactions in climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic substantially altered consumption patterns, especially for health supplies such as personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves. This study of 11 countries examines both the rate and types of litter being discarded as a result of changing policies and recommendations during the first 14 months of the pandemic.