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Outdoor field testing is crucial to understand how solar cells behave under operational conditions. Here, Aydin et al. show that a lower perovskite bandgap than that calculated at laboratory standard test conditions enhances the performance of perovskite/silicon tandem cells in the field.
Bio-oil derived from biomass has great potential as a more sustainable fuel but its formation typically relies on energy-intensive processes. Liu et al. show how a tri-phase hydrogen-transfer catalytic system can drive hydrodeoxygenation in water under mild conditions to achieve up to 90% hydrocarbon yield.
Local content requirements are designed to promote development of local industry; however, their economic and technological benefits are not well understood. Using data from Indian solar photovoltaic auctions, Probst et al. show the economic costs and technical benefits of local content requirements in energy auctions.
Donor–acceptor systems with low energy-level offset enable high power efficiency in organic solar cells yet it is unclear what drives charge generation. Classen et al. show that long exciton lifetimes enable efficient exciton splitting and thus generation of free charges while also suppressing voltage losses.
Selective photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into fuels without using sacrificial reagents and external bias has proved difficult. Addressing these challenges, Wang and colleagues fabricate wireless photocatalyst sheets comprising a molecular cobalt catalyst and metal oxide semiconductors that convert CO2 and H2O into formate and O2.
Tracking a battery’s chemical and thermal states during operation offers important information on its reliability and lifetime. Here the authors develop optical fibre sensors and decouple temperature and pressure variations in the measurements inside of batteries, allowing chemical and thermal events to be monitored with high accuracy.
Utility ownership of rooftop solar can potentially align utility financial interests with solar photovoltaic uptake, but the economic implications are not well understood. Now, G. Barbose and A. Satchwell evaluate the potential benefits of this model for utility shareholders and customers and show viability.
Anode-free batteries have emerged as a promising storage means to offer high energy density but still suffer from long-term reversibility. The authors analyse the cell failure mechanisms and present an optimized electrolyte to extend the lifetime of anode-free pouch cells.
Widespread deployment of electrochemical CO2 reduction requires low-cost catalysts that perform well at high current densities. Zhang et al. show that methoxy-functionalized nickel phthalocyanine molecules on carbon nanotubes can operate as high-performing molecularly dispersed electrocatalysts at current densities of up to −300 mA cm–2.
Electrochemically reducing nitrogen-containing molecules could provide less energy-intense routes to produce ammonia than the traditional Haber–Bosh process. Here the authors use a catalyst comprising Cu embedded in an organic molecular solid to synthesize ammonia from nitrate ions.
Offshore wind power has often been assumed to be costly and dependent on subsidies to survive. Using the latest auction data from five European countries Jansen et al. show that in mature markets offshore wind is already competitive without subsidies.
Electrocatalytically reducing CO2 to ethanol can provide renewably generated fuel, but catalysts are often poorly selective for this conversion. Here the authors use a Cu catalyst to produce ethanol with high selectivity. Cu dispersion is key to the performance and operando studies indicate that it changes under reaction conditions.
Antimony chalcogenides are emerging photovoltaic materials, yet difficulties in fabricating high-quality films limit device performance. We show that hydrothermal synthesis affords good morphology and reduced defects in antimony selenosulfide films, enabling solar cells with an efficiency of 10%.
Interconnecting layers are critical to the efficiency of tandem solar cells and a high number of layers is typically needed to ensure good electrical properties. Yu et. al show that a fullerene/tin-oxide interconnecting layer enables 24.4% efficiency and improved stability in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.
The upscaling of layer treatments and processing that afford high efficiency and stability in small-area perovskite solar cells remains challenging. Liu et al. show how the efficiency and stability of perovskite modules can be improved using an integrated approach to interface and layer engineering.
The COVID 19 pandemic and consequent lockdown has had a substantial impact on mobility and therefore fuel demand and it is not clear when demand will recover. Ou et al. use a machine learning model that integrates health recovery scenarios to project the near-term future of gasoline demand.
Understanding Li transport is important in the development of fast-rate batteries. Here the authors uncover an ultrafast charge transfer across a cathode–electrolyte interface with the aid of single-particle measurements and ascribe the solvation of electrolyte salts to be key for the interfacial kinetics.
Autonomous driving is being implemented in electric vehicles, but its energy impact is unclear. Here the authors build physics models to analyse the energy demand of autonomous electric vehicles and suggest that the influences of automation on vehicle range and battery longevity are small.
Use of electric vehicles in ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft is rising but their impact on environment and emissions remains difficult to assess. Using data from more than 100,000 rides, Alan Jenn shows the substantial emission reduction potential of electric vehicle use in ride-hailing in California.
In addition to high energy, batteries need to possess high power and to be able to operate in all climates. Here, the authors present an electrochemically active monolayer-coated current collector that is used to produce high-performance Li metal batteries under low-temperature and high-rate-charging conditions.