Volume 2 Issue 9, September 2017

The structure of active sites of enzymes involved in bioenergetic processes can inspire design of active, stable and cost-effective catalysts for renewable-energy technologies. For these materials to reach maturity, the benefits of bioinspired systems must be combined with practical technological requirements.

The Trump administration's domestic plans would have curtailed the nation's climate action even if it had stayed in the Paris Agreement. Yet, the decision to leave the agreement undermines US international energy and climate leadership and the prospects of ramping up global climate policy ambition.

Typically, the allocation of renewable power sources is determined by a desire to maximize output and reduce generation costs in order to satisfy the preferences of a small number of stakeholders. A new model broadens this perspective by considering societal equity and acceptability, with the aim of improving the siting process.

Transition-metal dichalcogenides are appealing catalysts for H₂ generation from water. They tend to rely on scarce edge sites, rather than the more abundant basal-plane sites, to drive catalysis. Now, guided by computation, H-TaS₂ and H-NbS₂ are proposed as highly basal-plane-active catalysts that improve with electrochemical cycling.

The utilization of porous carbon cathodes in lithium–air batteries is hindered by their severe decomposition during battery cycling. Now, dual redox mediators are shown to decouple the complex electrochemical reactions at the cathode, avoiding cathode passivation and decomposition.

Environmental heat sinks beyond local air are available for use with normal air conditioners to increase their efficiency. A study has exploited outer space and the atmosphere as remote sinks to demonstrate daytime sub-ambient fluid cooling and its application in reducing the energy needed to cool an interior.

Despite being currently under-represented in IPCC reports, PV generation represents a growing share of power generation. This Perspective argues that underestimating PV potential led to suboptimal integration measures and that specific deployment strategies for emerging economies should be developed.

As renewable energy technology deployment continues apace, it is increasingly important to consider the optimal spatial allocation of power plants. Towards this end, Drechsler et al. employ a variety of methods to understand the most efficient and equitable distribution of solar and wind plants across Germany.

The Li–O₂ cell performance is largely limited by the insulating and insoluble nature of Li₂O₂. Here the authors report that dual mediators decouple the electrochemical reactions at the cathode from the formation and decomposition of Li₂O₂ from solutions, helping stabilize the carbon cathode.

Li dendrite formation is a major obstacle in the development of Li metal batteries. Nazar and colleagues present a protection method for the Li metal by an in situ synthesis of Li-based surface alloy composites, and demonstrate promising battery applications.

Electricity storage will benefit from both R&D and deployment policy. This study shows that a dedicated programme of R&D spending in emerging technologies should be developed in parallel to improve safety and reduce overall costs, and in order to maximize the general benefit for the system.

Metal dichalcogenides are promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, but more active and stable materials are desired. Here the authors demonstrate that H-TaS₂ and H-NbS₂ possess high basal-plane activity that increases with cycling through changes in the morphology of the catalysts.

Clean energy sources bring environmental and health benefits by reducing traditional electricity sources. Millstein et al. analyse data from 2007–2015 on the expansion of solar and wind power in the US to explore impacts in terms of air pollution, avoided emissions and associated premature mortality.

Various strategies are developed to combine high efficiency and stability in perovskite solar cells. Here, Wang et al. mix 2D and 3D mixed-cation and mixed-halide perovskite phases in solar cells with stabilized efficiencies up to 19.5% and improved stability under full illumination and ambient air.

To improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices while keeping the same spatial footprint, solar cells can be stacked on top of each other. Here, Essig et al. fabricate very efficient dual-junction and triple-junction solar cells by placing one or two III–V solar cells on top of a silicon solar cell.

Radiative sky cooling passively rejects heat from a surface out into space via an atmospheric transparency window, enabling sub-ambient cooling. Goldstein et al. exploit this to show daytime cooling of water by up to 5 ^∘C below ambient temperature, equivalent to a heat rejection flux of 70 Wm⁻².