In battery research, the demand for public datasets to ensure transparent analyses of battery health is growing. Jan Figgener et al. meet this need with an 8-year study of 21 lithium-ion systems in Germany, generating a dataset of 14 billion data points that offers valuable insights into battery longevity for home storage.

Electricity access statistics used to track progress against the Sustainable Development Goal 7.1 set by the United Nations have significant uncertainties, which may bring into question the electrification status of at least 87.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, we call for a re-evaluation of the definitions of electricity access used by international organizations and the methodologies applied to calculate them.

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ can yield many different products; a better understanding of the key mechanisms at play is needed to guide the design of selective catalysts. Here the authors use in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and simulations to elucidate reaction schemes for CO₂ reduction to ethylene and ethanol.

POWERful Women is a professional initiative established in 2014 targeting a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive energy sector in the UK. To mark the tenth anniversary, Katie Jackson — Chair of POWERful Women — talks to Nature Energy about progress so far and the challenges ahead.

Carbon capture technologies often consume substantial amounts of heat and require multiple steps to release CO₂ and regenerate the absorbent. Here the authors report one-step electrochemical regeneration of CO₂ and alkaline absorbent from (bi)carbonate solutions using a porous solid electrolyte reactor.

The Inflation Reduction Act increases the competitiveness of US electric vehicle battery manufacturing and incentivizes supply chain diversification, but reducing vulnerabilities will depend on automaker choices in battery design and navigating regulations.

Fair finance in the energy sector is modelled in five climate–energy–economy models. The results show that convergence costs of capital could improve energy availability, affordability and sustainability in developing countries, thereby increasing the international equity of the energy transition.

As Europe’s renewable energy grows, energy droughts become more likely. This analysis of daily production and demand from five EU countries shows that compounded weather impacts, such as low spring reservoir inflows, can quadruple drought risks in summer and winter.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction to make fuels and feedstocks often relies on metal-based catalysts. Here the authors report membrane electrode assemblies operating with relatively high current densities for CO₂-to-CH₄ conversion using organic molecular catalysts.

Achieving long-cycle-life, aqueous, dual-electrode-free Zn/MnO₂ batteries with high energy density is challenging. This work introduces a liquid crystal interphase in the electrolytes with soft templating effects, considerably enhancing performance.

Changes in the political landscape following this year’s elections in Europe and the USA will have implications for the energy transition and energy policies. This will have knock-on effects for energy researchers in terms of funding, collaboration and the direction of future energy technologies.

Community Benefit Agreements are needed to integrate community priorities into project design and mining operations on public land in the USA, argues Elizabeth Holley.

Electricity access statistics used to track progress against the Sustainable Development Goal 7.1 set by the United Nations have significant uncertainties, which may bring into question the electrification status of at least 87.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, we call for a re-evaluation of the definitions of electricity access used by international organizations and the methodologies applied to calculate them.