Volume 9 Issue 1, January 2024

Irreversible structural transitions and disorder in electrodes during battery operation can cause electrochemical performance to deteriorate. Now, an innovative design that turns an irreversible phase transition into a partially disordered phase is shown to be effective in improving disordered rocksalt materials.

The operational stability of perovskite solar cells is often tested in the laboratory environment but its correlation to real-world operation is still unclear. New research shows that the outdoor ageing behaviour of the devices can be modelled with temperature-dependent degradation rates from laboratory stability tests that apply both heat and light stressors.

Not all Australian communities are equally protected by consumer electricity retail regulations, with remote and Indigenous communities more likely to be underserved on multiple fronts. Communities in regions potentially critical to energy transition are often underserved by regulations that would otherwise ensure their own energy needs, hindering progress toward a just transition.

An interlayer of aluminium oxide with fixed charges is shown to boost perovskite solar cell performance. The open-circuit voltage is increased by 60 meV, and there is no significant efficiency drop after 2,000 hours under one sun illumination at 85 °C.

Nickel-rich layered cathode materials deliver high energy density but suffer from rapid capacity fading owing to various side reactions at the cathode–electrolyte interface. A proposed near-surface modification of nickel-rich cathode materials increases their cycling stability, enabling the realization of high-energy-density and durability requirements for practical application.

Payments awarded for renewables are sometimes labelled as subsidies, suggesting support for uneconomic activity. This Perspective argues that the primary role of contracts for difference is risk management by creating a market for electricity supply at stable long-term prices.

Earth-abundant, inexpensive cathode materials are highly desirable for the sustainable development of batteries. Here the researchers report that a manganese-rich, cation-disordered rock salt material exhibits—via an in situ phase transition to a partially disordered spinel phase during cycling—potentially high energy density and rate capability.

Defects at the perovskite/charge extraction layer interface reduce the performance of solar cells. Yang et al. show that charged oxide interlayers passivate defects by altering charge carrier concentration and their acidity minimizes detrimental reactions.

Ni-rich layered cathodes offer a high energy density but experience rapid capacity fading due to interfacial side reactions. This study proposes near-surface modifications for these Ni-rich cathodes to fulfil practical battery application requirements.

Recent liquid electrolyte advancements have achieved dendrite-free Li plating, but Li corrosion remains an issue. Here the authors propose an electrolyte solution to minimize Li corrosion, enabling high-energy-density Li-metal batteries.

Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells are limited by losses in open-circuit voltage. Wang et al. show that diammonium halide salts promote a homogeneous distribution of halides in the perovskite, improving the performance of single- and triple-junction solar cells.

The alkali-metal electrolytes often used in electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction can lead to problematic carbonate formation and salt precipitation. Here, the authors demonstrate a scaled-up system for CO₂ reduction that uses both anion-exchange and proton-exchange membranes, allowing alkali-cation-free water to be used as a feed, with resulting stable operation.

In Australia, remote settlements and Indigenous settlements are respectively 18% and 15% more likely to be underserved across five categories of electricity retail legal protections. These settlements are therefore likely to enter the energy transition on an uneven footing.