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A natural field experiment found that real-time feedback on energy consumption while showering led to an 11.4% reduction in energy use in a random sample of hotel guests, demonstrating the potential for activity-specific feedback as a cost-effective and scalable conservation strategy.
Multilateral development banks are known to finance a significant number of new power plants in low-income countries, and have been pushing for more renewables. Here, researchers build a bottom-up dataset of more than 800 projects from 10 banks to quantify the extent to which these banks have greened their portfolios.
Metallic dendrite growth of metal anodes is a major concern in developing next-generation metal-ion batteries. Here the authors develop a cross-linked polyethylenimine as a metal host that enables electrokinetic effects for uniform metal deposition.
Although rigid silicon panels dominate the solar power market, they are unsuitable for niche applications such as portable charging or drones, where thin-film and flexible technologies would be advantageous. This Analysis examines the needs of niche markets and the packaging weights that would be required to enable such photovoltaic devices to enter them.
A decrease in the cost of renewable energy is often attributed to technological learning. This study uses 18 years of data from 133 renewable energy projects in Germany, alongside practitioner interviews, to find that changing financing costs, not just technology, are responsible for a significant cost decrease.
Contaminants such as CO2 and H2S present in natural gas and biogas streams must be removed before use; existing strategies to do so can be rather complex. Here, the authors use a fluorinated porous metal–organic framework to remove CO2 and H2S from CH4-rich feeds in a single step, potentially simplifying the process.
Solid oxide fuel cells are most commercially viable when run at low temperatures, but this makes it challenging to achieve high performance with hydrocarbon fuels. Here the authors report a fuel cell running at 500 °C on nearly dry methane that incorporates a Ni–Ru–CeO2-based reforming catalyst, achieving high power densities and coking resistance.
Reducing the severity of the conditions required to synthesize ammonia would increase the viability of its use as a carbon-free energy carrier. Here the authors use metal imides to mediate ammonia production via a two-step chemical looping process that operates under mild conditions.
Porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used as sorbents in water-adsorption-driven chillers, but are currently limited in terms of stability and efficiency. Here the authors present a chemically and mechanically stable zirconium carboxylate MOF with a high coefficient of performance for refrigeration.
Germany is the first major country to pursue an energy transition based on decentralized renewables. This Analysis finds that news media coverage of the ‘Energiewende’ in the United Kingdom, Finland and Hungary focuses on techno-economics, but normative assessments reflect local visions of a good society.
Materials design rules play a key role in enabling high performance in organic photovoltaics. Here the authors achieve 12.25% efficiency on 1 cm2 non-fullerene solar cells by tuning the side chains’ branching point and the fluorine substitutions in donor and acceptor materials.
Understanding the water–energy nexus requires a detailed picture of how the two resources are linked. Towards this end, Chini et al. combine concepts of virtual water transfers with water-usage data for electricity generation to visualize and analyse the virtual water transfers for the US electricity grid from 2010–2016.
Decentralized solar electricity is an important tool for expanding electricity access. Using data from sub-Saharan Africa, researchers identify a systematic scaling between reliability and cost. Future scenarios suggest these systems will compete with centralized grids on both cost and reliability.
In the Middle East, new solar projects are being launched where developers have agreed to provide solar energy at record-low costs to utilities. Here, researchers analyse the key factors contributing to the low cost, showing that it is possible to replicate similar costs in other parts of the world.
Building energy efficiency can be important for CO2 emissions reduction, especially in rapidly developing nations such as China, where extensive new construction is expected to take place over the coming decades. Researchers show potential for high emissions reduction in buildings in China up to 2050 using a detailed scenario modelling exercise.
Thermal fluctuations inside batteries limit their performance and pose various safety hazards. Here, the authors develop a shape memory alloy-based thermal regulator that stabilizes battery temperature in both hot and cold extreme environments.
Integrating biofuel production with petrorefinery operations offers potential efficiency savings, but is technologically immature. Here, Deneyer et al. use a two-phase catalytic process that converts (hemi)cellulose into light naphtha, utilizing petro-derived solvent streams to deliver a fuel containing 10% bio-derived carbon.
A well-designed artificial solid-electrolyte interphase (ASEI) could help resolve multiple problems associated with the use of metallic Li anodes in batteries. Here, the authors develop a Langmuir–Blodgett method to produce an ASEI composed of functionalized graphene oxide with a compatible electrolyte formulation, which facilitates a stable cycling of Li metal batteries.
Decoupling resource use from energy production is critical for sustainable development. Here, researchers show a decoupling between water use and electricity generation growth in China, accompanied by changing spatial distribution of associated water stress.
To minimize recombination losses and therefore increase the conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells, researchers have relied on passivating contacts. Here, the authors demonstrate a hole-selective passivating contact that exploits the firing step currently employed in industrial manufacturing.