Research Briefing

A strategy for the design of Cu₂Se thermoelectric legs for power generation is demonstrated, involving finite element modelling and three-dimensional printing to optimize their macroscopic geometries and microscopic defects. A device with an hourglass-shaped leg exhibits enhanced power generation performance compared with one with a traditional cuboid leg.

The inflexibility of power grids can lead to stranded renewable power that cannot be absorbed by the grid. Now, a modular electrochemical synthesis strategy for the production of value-added chemicals is demonstrated to provide demand flexibility, enabling participation in different electricity markets and creating opportunities to generate revenue.

A high-performance ternary organic solar cell (OSC) is developed through rational design of a nonfullerene guest acceptor. The optimized single-junction OSC shows reduced photon and carrier losses, leading to a high power conversion efficiency of more than 20%.

The Solar Mamas programme for energy transition in Zanzibar, Tanzania, has been analysed through a combined lens of care and epistemic injustice. The case study illustrates that interventions that centre energy care work and its gendered dimensions in locally led energy-transition initiatives can disrupt established gender norms and produce better project outcomes.

Achieving net zero implies the electrification of heat and transport, causing challenges for electricity networks. We used geographically disaggregated data to map estimated network impacts across 40,000 local areas across Great Britain and explore ways of avoiding them through local flexibility.

A key issue in net energy analysis is the omission of the effects of end-use efficiencies on the energy returns of technologies. Now, an analysis shows that these effects strongly favour the energy returns of wind power and solar photovoltaics, which are found to be higher than those of fossil fuels.

Realizing fast-charging and energy-dense lithium-ion batteries remains a challenge. Now, a porous current collector has been conceptualized that halves the effective lithium-ion diffusion distance and quadruples the diffusion-limited rate capability of batteries to achieve fast charging without compromising the energy density.

Ultralightweight perovskite solar cells that achieve a specific power of up to 44 W g^–1 and good stability are developed through engineering of the photoactive layer and substrate. These solar cells can be integrated into a drone to enable energy-autonomous flight.

Using a hybrid fixture, application of an appropriate external pressure on Li-metal pouch cells with a liquid electrolyte considerably reduces cell swelling. Mapping of the pressure distribution across the cell surface provides insight into the electroplating process that could inform strategies to overcome uneven Li plating on the Li-metal surface.

During extreme storms, the failure of a small fraction of transmission lines can trigger a cascade of outages in a power grid. Going beyond static approaches, it is now demonstrated that resolving the spatio-temporal interactions between the storm and the power grid is key to identifying these critical lines.

Factors such as wealth might be expected to affect the transition to clean cooking, specifically the transition choices of uptake, primary use, and exclusive use of liquefied petroleum gas. Data from Ghana’s largest household energy survey show, however, that eleven out of thirteen factors considered do not have a significant or consistent role across these transition choices.

The emissions impact of the time-matching requirement between grid-connected electrolytic hydrogen production and contracted renewables has been the focus of a vigorous policy debate. Energy system model-based analysis of grid-connected hydrogen production demonstrates that emissions impacts under any time-matching requirement are highly sensitive to the definition of additionality and region-specific policies.

An interlayer of aluminium oxide with fixed charges is shown to boost perovskite solar cell performance. The open-circuit voltage is increased by 60 meV, and there is no significant efficiency drop after 2,000 hours under one sun illumination at 85 °C.

Nickel-rich layered cathode materials deliver high energy density but suffer from rapid capacity fading owing to various side reactions at the cathode–electrolyte interface. A proposed near-surface modification of nickel-rich cathode materials increases their cycling stability, enabling the realization of high-energy-density and durability requirements for practical application.

A high-quality tunnelling-recombination layer composed of a boron- and phosphorus-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) stack is obtained by suppressing dopant interdiffusion. Strong adsorption of the hole-transport layer on the poly-Si substrate enables efficient charge-carrier transport and extraction, enabling the realization of a perovskite/tunnel oxide passivating contact tandem solar cell with 29.2% efficiency.

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction can produce carbon-based fuels; however, the design of more efficient catalysts has proved challenging. A tandem electrocatalyst comprising SnS₂ nanosheets and Sn single atoms bound to three oxygen atoms on a carbon support is shown to exhibit high catalytic performance for CO₂ reduction to ethanol, including high selectivity.

Offshore wind energy could have an important role in decarbonizing regional power systems in the USA. By modelling a range of scenarios, power system uncertainties related to policy, technology costs, transmission, and siting are assessed to understand how they influence the deployment of offshore wind.

Aqueous polysulfide-based flow batteries are candidates for large-scale energy storage but the sluggish reaction kinetics of the polysulfide electrolyte limit the operating current density and energy efficiency. A molecular catalyst, riboflavin sodium phosphate, is applied to catalyse polysulfide reduction, enabling the demonstration of long-life polysulfide-based flow batteries with high energy efficiencies.

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) have the potential to operate below 450 °C, but their performance is poor at such temperatures. Through the development of a low-resistance electrolyte and the in situ formation of a composite positive electrode, a PCEC with good fuel cell and electrolysis cell performance at <450 °C is demonstrated.

The addition of a guest component can improve the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells. Spectroscopic experiments, combined with quantum chemistry simulations, conducted on a series of ternary organic solar cells provide a guide to further improving the open-circuit voltage, and hence the power conversion efficiency, of these solar cells.