Volume 8 Issue 1, January 2023

It is challenging to develop battery cathodes with both high performance and low cost. Now, an amorphous material based on cheap, earth-abundant elements is shown to achieve high capacity by undertaking both the intercalation and conversion reactions reversibly.

Historically redlined communities have been disproportionately burdened by multiple environmental and social stressors, related to lower housing values and inequitable access to investments and other resources. New research examines whether redlining was associated with the siting of fossil fuel power plants and how that association changed over time.

Rooftop solar panels are often seen principally as an option for wealthier households, despite the savings they can bring. A new study following low-income households over 10 months shows how they adopt rooftop solar panels, establish new prosumption practices, and commit to these practices as the benefits of the technology emerge.

Bifaciality allows the harvest of sunlight from both sides of a solar cell and thereby increases power output, but the efficiency of thin-film devices lags behind that of silicon counterparts. Now, researchers demonstrate a bifacial Cu(In,Ga)Se₂-perovskite tandem solar cell with a 28 mW/cm² power output under front and rear illumination.

Ink formulations based on terpenes commonly employed as food additives or fragrances have been used to produce various organic electronics without compromising on device performance. These terpene solvents have reduced toxicities and produce lower overall carbon emissions than standard processing solvents.

Energy-development projects typically adopt a Western perspective, which can create tensions and difficulties among Indigenous communities. In this Review the authors examine sustainable energy interventions in Indigenous territories and call for a more pluralistic approach that is focused on learning from Indigenous narratives.

Sustainable battery development requires high-performance components that are made of low-cost Earth-abundant materials. Here the authors report that an iron fluorosulfate—capable of both intercalation and conversion reactions during battery cycling—displays promising capacity and cyclability.

Bifacial Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ photovoltaics have limited efficiency. Now Yang et al. have developed a process for low-temperature deposition of the absorber material that suppresses the formation of a detrimental GaO_x interlayer and reduces the back interface recombination, enabling efficiencies of over 19% and 10% under front and rear illumination, respectively.

Historical appraisals of US neighbourhoods are thought to have led to present-day disparities in homeownership, home values and environmental and health outcomes. Cushing et al. examine the links between this historic red-lining, the siting of fossil fuel power plants and the burden of emissions.

There is a growing need for sustainable and green solvent processing of organic optoelectronics. Now Corzo et al. show that terpene solvents in a binary formulation enable device performance on par with that of more toxic solvents.

Solar panels can reduce domestic electricity bills, but their cost often makes them unavailable to low-income households. This ten-month study follows the journeys of seven social-housing tenants who were given the opportunity to become solar-power prosumers, and the impact this had on their everyday practices, finances and lives.

Li–S chemistry can provide high-energy-density batteries. Here the authors use lithiated metallic phase 2D materials as a sulfur host for cathodes that leads to high-energy-density Li–S pouch cell batteries.

Low-carbon energy technology startups play a role in accelerating decarbonization and form part of several countries’ development strategies. This study characterizes the landscape of such startups in India, finding that market-creation policy should be complemented with long-term measures to strengthen technological capability.