Volume 1 Issue 9, September 2016

Solid-state batteries have recently attracted great interest as potentially safe and stable high-energy storage systems. However, key issues remain unsolved, hindering full-scale commercialization.

For uptake of electric vehicles to increase, consumers' driving-range needs must be fulfilled. Analysis of the driving patterns of personal vehicles in the US now shows that today's electric vehicles can meet all travel needs on almost 90% of days from a single overnight charge.

The solar-driven generation of water steam at 100 °C under one sun normally requires the use of optical concentrators to provide the necessary energy flux. Now, thermal concentration is used to raise the vapour temperature to 100 °C without the need for costly optical concentrators.

Fuel cells typically function well only in rather limited temperature and humidity ranges. Now, a proton exchange membrane consisting of ion pair complexes is shown to enable improved fuel cell performance under a wide range of conditions that are unattainable with conventional approaches.

Increasing the penetration of distributed generation and smart grid technologies requires substantial investments. A study proposes an innovative approach that combines four regulatory tools to provide economic incentives for distribution system operators to facilitate these innovative practices.

The development of rechargeable batteries that use metallic lithium anodes faces challenges such as dendrite formation. Here the authors review recent advances in preventing the proliferation of dendrite and discuss design principles for electrolytes and interfaces in lithium-metal batteries.

Lithium–air batteries offer great promise for high-energy storage capability but also pose tremendous challenges for their realization. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding the fundamental science that governs lithium–air battery operation, focusing on the reactions at the oxygen electrode.

Li–S batteries are a low-cost and high-energy storage system but their full potential is yet to be realized. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding polysulfide chemistry at the positive electrode and the electrolyte and discusses approaches towards long-life and high-loading batteries.

Redox-flow batteries with organic-based electrolytes hold many advantages over conventional-flow batteries. Here the authors report a high-performance flow battery based on alloxazine, an aqueous-stable and soluble redox-active organic molecule resembling the backbone structure of vitamin B2.

Silicon has long been recognized as a high-energy battery electrode but its commercialization faces significant barriers. Here the authors report scalable synthesis of silicon-nanolayer-embedded graphite electrodes that display cycling stability at the industrial electrode density.

Large-scale adoption of electric vehicles will only occur if the needs of individual drivers are met. Here the authors present a model of the energy consumption of personal vehicles in the USA, allowing an evaluation of the adoption potential of electric vehicles.

Carrier recombination in organic solar cells usually limits their optoelectronic performance, in particular their fill factor. Gasparini et al show that adding an ordered polymer to a ternary blend reduces carrier recombination, achieving a fill factor of 77%.

There is intensive research underway into the development of fuel cells. Here, the authors present a proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on quaternary ammonium-biphosphate ion pairs, offering promising performance under a wide range of conditions that are unattainable with conventional technologies.

Solar energy can be used to evaporate water and generate steam, however this usually requires expensive optical concentrators. Ni et al. demonstrate a low-cost solar receiver based on thermal concentration that generates steam at 100 ^∘C without the need for optical concentration.