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Perovskite photovoltaics are promising for space applications, but their reliability needs to be addressed. Now, Kirmani et al. present a 1-μm-thick silicon oxide that affords protection against protons, alpha particles and atomic oxygen.

Efficient mechanical energy harvesting approaches are needed. Here, Zhang et al. develop a plied carbon nanotube yarn that harvests mechanical energy upon stretching and lateral deformations, achieving 17.4 and 22.4% efficiencies for tensile and torsional harvesting, respectively.

A perovskite nanolayer formed at the surface of layered cathode particles enables ultra-stable high-voltage cycling. The lanthanum and calcium-based perovskite layer serves as an oxygen buffer, and effectively suppresses the oxygen evolution reaction that is a common cause of failure in hybrid anion- and cation-redox cathodes.

The COVID-19 pandemic had substantial social and economic impacts globally but particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study reports survey findings on changes to household energy use and engagement with a government liquefied petroleum gas scheme in rural North India in 2020 and 2021.

Public support or opposition plays an important role in the deployment of new energy technologies. This study explores how attitudes towards fracking in the United Kingdom can influence perceptions of geothermal systems and hydrogen, testing spontaneous, prompted and primed forms of the spillover effect.

Silicon-based anodes suffer from immense volume change and cracks during battery operations, limiting cycling stability. Now, a hierarchically-ordered conductive binder network — formed in situ upon thermal treatment of anodes containing conducting polymer precursors — can improve charge-transport and mechanical properties, and thus cyclability.

Electrochemical reduction of N₂, mediated by Li, offers promise to decarbonize NH₃ production, yet interfacial dynamics in such systems are poorly understood. Now, the morphology of the solid-electrolyte interphase layer formed during N₂ reduction is revealed, opening opportunities to elucidate by-product formation mechanisms and improve NH₃ selectivity.

Rooftop solar panels are often seen principally as an option for wealthier households, despite the savings they can bring. A new study following low-income households over 10 months shows how they adopt rooftop solar panels, establish new prosumption practices, and commit to these practices as the benefits of the technology emerge.

Solar panels can reduce domestic electricity bills, but their cost often makes them unavailable to low-income households. This ten-month study follows the journeys of seven social-housing tenants who were given the opportunity to become solar-power prosumers, and the impact this had on their everyday practices, finances and lives.

The carbon and energy efficiencies of current CO₂/CO electrolysis systems are limited. Here the authors show that these metrics can be improved by controlling ion flows in the vicinity of a copper catalyst by the application of a covalent organic framework.

Surface coating is a common method to combat the performance degradation of layered oxide cathodes in rechargeable batteries. Here the authors analyse coating design principles and demonstrate that a lanthurizing coating approach—which alters the atomic structure just beneath the cathode surface—leads to exceptionally high-voltage cycling stability.

Li–S chemistry can provide high-energy-density batteries. Here the authors use lithiated metallic phase 2D materials as a sulfur host for cathodes that leads to high-energy-density Li–S pouch cell batteries.

Organic functionalities are often introduced into conductive polymers for battery applications, but their addition also leads to conflicting properties and battery performance deterioration. Here the authors develop hierarchically ordered structures in conductive polymers that display exceptional electrochemical properties as a silicon binder.

José Miguel Bermúdez Menéndez, energy technology analyst on hydrogen and alternative fuels at the International Energy Agency (IEA), talks to Nature Energy about the IEA’s Hydrogen Projects Database, which was last updated in October 2022.

Ink formulations based on terpenes commonly employed as food additives or fragrances have been used to produce various organic electronics without compromising on device performance. These terpene solvents have reduced toxicities and produce lower overall carbon emissions than standard processing solvents.

Lithium-mediated nitrogen fixation is a promising pathway to electrochemical ammonia synthesis, but the role of metallic lithium and its passivation layer are unclear. Here the authors employ cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to explore these components, finding that the proton donor is the key determinant of lithium reactivity.

Historically redlined communities have been disproportionately burdened by multiple environmental and social stressors, related to lower housing values and inequitable access to investments and other resources. New research examines whether redlining was associated with the siting of fossil fuel power plants and how that association changed over time.