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Direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 has garnered interest as a negative emissions technology to help achieve climate targets, but indirect emissions and other environmental impacts must be better understood. Here, Deutz and Bardow perform a life-cycle assessment of DAC plants operated by Climeworks, based on industrial data.
Solid-state caloric cooling is a promising alternative to vapour compression, yet only a few prototypes have been shown. Greibich et al. now report an elastocaloric cooling device based on natural rubber with a cooling power of over 20 W g–1 that exploits snap-through instability and strain-induced crystallization.
With the increasing growth in wind power installations, turbine deployment locations now include areas for which there is only limited data about wind speeds. Here, Pryor and Barthelmie present a global-scale investigation of extreme wind speeds, comparing different statistical approaches.
Current battery electric vehicles cannot meet all daily travel needs on a single charge. Wei et al. use travel survey data to model charging infrastructure scenarios under a range of battery sizes to find the best suite of charging options and use of supplemental vehicles to electrify personal vehicle transport.
Ternary layered oxides dominate the current automobile batteries but suffer from material scarcity and operational safety. Here the authors report that, when operating at around 60 °C, a low-cost lithium iron phosphate-based battery exhibits ultra-safe, fast rechargeable and long-lasting properties.
The inability of a household to meet basic energy needs is associated with adverse health consequences. This study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the prevalence of energy insecurity, and may have widened pre-existing racial disparities in the likelihood of being energy insecure.
Energy scenarios can sometimes miss lock-in caused by planned power plant projects and uncertainty around their realization. Here, Alova et al. build a machine-learning model that predicts Africa’s electricity generation mix in 2030 based on the commissioning chances of planned projects.
In order to assess the impact of climate change on energy systems, models need to incorporate the increased risk of extreme weather events. Here, Bennett et al. provide a framework to integrate increasing extreme event risk in grid expansion planning models and apply the method to hurricane risks in Puerto Rico.
Bifacial solar cells can outperform monofacial cells by exploiting sunlight reflected off the ground surface. De Bastiani et al. show that bifacial perovskite/silicon tandem with an optimized bandgap can deliver a power density of 26 mW cm–2 and compare its performance to monofacial cells under outdoor conditions.
The perception of risks imminent to younger technologies may hinder renewable energy firms’ access to financing. Here, Kempa et al. have used a global dataset of loans to show that the cost of debt of renewable energy firms decreased over time below those of non-renewable energy firms, which saw an increase in financing costs.
Feedback loops in consumer behaviour can accelerate desirable phenomena and be used to create effective policy. Kaufmann et al. identify a critical green feedback loop by using Massachusetts data to show bidirectional causality among solar photovoltaic cost, adoption and electric vehicle sales.
The development of nuclear fusion reactors requires detailed nuclear analyses to ensure they run safely and effectively. These are currently typically done using partial models. Juarez et al. now present a complete 360° model of the ITER tokamak, which allows for more realistic and complete modelling of the system.
Two-dimensional structures introduced into perovskite solar cells improve performance yet their morphological and dimensional control remains challenging. Jang et al. devise a solid-phase approach to grow phase-pure two-dimensional perovskites over bulk perovskite, which affords greater device efficiency and stability.
The investigation of perovskite solar modules under outdoor conditions could provide insights into device operation and degradation in the field. Velilla et al. report on the potential of the ideality factor to analyse outdoor device performance evolution over time, distinguish between degradation modes and estimate the lifetime.
City-scale emission scenarios are critical for transport and energy sector policy making. Using a model that accounts for building stock and transportation fleets, Isik et al. visualize emission changes in the transport sector in New York City under various electric vehicle adoption and grid decarbonization scenarios.