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It is challenging to decipher electrochemical processes, especially at the molecular scale, inside a working battery. Here Tarascon and colleagues develop a technique that pairs optical fibre sensors with operando infrared spectroscopy to reveal the dynamic mechanisms of key processes in commercial Li-ion and Na-ion batteries.

Charge generation in organic photovoltaics hinges upon the frontier molecular orbital energies of organic semiconductors, yet their precise determination is not trivial. Now, researchers compare various methods to determine these energies and show the need for an energy level offset to assist charge generation in non-fullerene-based solar cells.

Dr Mohammad Hadi Mohammadi, Council for At-Risk Academics Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, shares with Nature Energy their story about fleeing Afghanistan, settling down in the UK and their hope to return home one day.

High-speed deposition of organic solar cells is crucial to manufacturing, yet it remains a challenge. Now, Sun et al. show that layer-by-layer deposition holds potential for speeding up the fabrication of solar cells while retaining high efficiency.

It is a challenging task to understand the reversibility of lithium-metal anodes in batteries. Here the authors identify the lithium electrode potential as a critical factor that affects the anode reversibility and subsequently propose an electrolyte design to improve the cycling performance.

Micromobility solutions such as e-bikes or e-scooters are rapidly changing urban travel patterns and behaviours. Asensio et al. use travel data from the city of Atlanta, which introduced a No Ride Zone, and uncover trade-offs between public safety policy and traffic congestion.

Electrochemical CO₂ capture could potentially avoid large energy inputs typical of approaches based on temperature and pressure swings, but better sorbents are still needed. New research expands the sorbent library using molecules with redox-tuneable sp² nitrogen centres as effective electrochemical CO₂ capture agents.

Projects are under way for direct-current ultra-high-voltage transmission lines that would allow trading of renewable electricity across world regions. Guo et al. use integrated assessment models to explore different scenarios for the operation of these projects and assess their potential for decarbonization.

Discussions abound regarding the future of African energy systems, yet they typically overlook the different starting points and development objectives of each country. This Perspective highlights these differences and calls for more context-specific attention to define low-carbon energy pathways.

The development of high-energy Li-ion batteries is being geared towards cobalt-free cathodes because of economic and social–environmental concerns. Here the authors analyse the chemistry, thermodynamics and resource potential of these strategic transition metals, and propose that the use of cobalt will likely continue.

Increased use of cooling technologies, such as air conditioning, during hot weather can lead to higher bills for low-income households. Using Southern California Edison data, this study quantifies the relationship between daily temperature, electricity use and utility disconnections for low-income households in California.

Comprehensive and meaningful inclusion of marginalized communities within the research enterprise will be critical to ensuring an equitable, technology-informed, clean energy transition. We provide five key action items for government agencies and philanthropic institutions to operationalize the commitment to an equitable energy transition.

Lithium-metal batteries offer great energy density improvement over lithium-ion, but understanding their cyclability is a daunting task. Now, an analytical method is reported to quantify lithium in its electrochemically inactive and active forms, enabling insights about the anode reversibility throughout cycling.

Electrochemical approaches to carbon capture have the advantages of operation under ambient conditions and modular design, but improved sorbent molecules are still needed. Here the authors present a library of redox-tunable Lewis bases, shedding light on molecular design guidelines to tune sorbent properties.

Pyroelectric materials have potential applications in sensors and energy harvesters but it is difficult for these materials to deliver energy in the joule range. Now, a pyroelectric harvester made of lead scandium tantalate with a multilayer structure is shown to generate about 4.43 J cm^–3 from each thermodynamic cycle.

The efficiency of kesterite solar cells has been stuck at 12.6% since 2013 due to challenges in controlling defects. Now Gong et al. present a low-temperature annealing of the kesterite/CdS junction to form an epitaxial interface with a low defect density, enabling 13%-efficiency devices.

The performance of CO₂ electrolysers is often limited by poor transfer of reactants and products. Here the authors design a CO₂ electrolyser in which forced convection of the catholyte throughout a porous electrode addresses this issue and allows high current densities to be reached.