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The inflexibility of power grids can lead to stranded renewable power that cannot be absorbed by the grid. Here Wang et al. report a modular electrochemical strategy for the production of useful chemicals that can provide demand flexibility, enabling participation in different electricity markets.
While the high concentration of CO2 in flue gas makes it an attractive feedstock for electrocatalytic production of useful molecules, SO2 contaminants can poison catalysts. Here the authors report a polymer/catalyst/ionomer heterojunction design with hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains that improves the SO2 tolerance of a Cu catalyst.
Anode-free batteries are cost effective but limited by unstable anode morphology and interface reactions. Here the authors discuss design parameters and construct an anode-free sodium solid-state battery using compressed aluminium particles as the anode current collector to improve cycling performance.
Decarbonization of transport is critical for emissions reduction goals, but understanding long-distance passenger travel patterns remains difficult. This study combines different travel surveys in England to explore long-distance travel and its oversized impact on emissions, proposing a new metric to examine decarbonization potential.
The stability of perovskite photovoltaics under reverse bias is limited and thus an issue for real-world applications. Nengxu Li and colleagues report the underlying degradation mechanism at the cathode side and a multilayer barrier to minimize it.
China’s continuing reliance on coal in district heating risks considerable carbon lock-in and hinders decommissioning of coal-fired electricity generation. This work outlines how the government can achieve its proposal to decarbonize district heating.
Non-fused ring electron acceptors may have low synthetic costs but also exhibit poor crystallinity in organic solar cells. Zeng et al. use a binary solvent system to control the crystallization and phase separation of donor and acceptor materials, achieving over 19% efficiency.
This study assesses the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for 1,025 planned green hydrogen facilities covering diverse technologies and renewable electricity sources in 72 countries, noting that well-chosen production configurations are central to green hydrogen.
Molecular design is key to the power conversion efficiency in organic photovoltaics. Jiang, Sun, Xu et al. develop a non-fullerene acceptor with asymmetric structure and phenyl-substituted side chains that minimizes photon and carrier losses, enabling 20.2% efficiency.
Graphene-based membranes are attractive for capturing CO2, with separation selectivity typically achieved by control of pore size. Here Hsu et al. incorporate pyridinic nitrogen species at the pore edges in graphene, leading to competitive CO2 binding and enhanced separation performance.
Light-driven approaches could lower the carbon footprint of chemical production. Here the authors use the perovskite oxide LaMn1−xCuxO3 as a photocatalyst to convert ethane to ethylene and hydrogen.
Smart temperature-responsive materials could enhance battery thermal safety management; however, current designs lack the necessary responsiveness for both performance and safety. Here the authors demonstrate a material that swiftly transitions from thermal transmission to isolation during thermal runaway in battery modules, thereby ensuring battery safety.
High-temperature operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells has some advantages but is also challenging due to the instability of proton transport above 160 °C. Here the authors report a polymer electrolyte membrane comprising well-dispersed and interconnected cerium hydrogen phosphate particles within a polymer matrix that performs well in a fuel cell at up to 250 °C.
Drawing from data on 11 US states, here the authors find evidence to suggest that community solar and other alternative solar products have the potential to expand solar access among lower-income and renter households.
EU emissions trading system carbon prices have surged since 2017. Here the authors consider sources of this increase and note that increased foresight driven by stronger commitment to climate targets has played a role. Prices also run the risk of dropping if policy credibility is undermined.
A detailed understanding of defects in kesterite solar cells is still lacking. Shi et al. identify a key defect and its formation mechanism and use alloying to suppress it, achieving solar cells with 14.2% certified efficiency.
Increased deployment of electrification through solar power, heat pumps and electric vehicles requires power-network upgrades, but their full impacts are unclear. Few et al. take a local-level approach to examine network upgrade needs, finding large regional variations, and explore how flexibility can minimize impacts.
Elastocaloric cooling, an emerging refrigeration technology, has so far yielded limited performance in devices. Zhou et al. increase the temperature lift of such devices to 75 K by combining three NiTi elastocaloric materials with different phase-transition temperatures.
The US Midwest is a promising region for the production of cellulosic biofuel, yet a greater understanding of the interactions between landscape-related decisions, biorefinery design and carbon capture integration is still needed. O’Neill et al. use fine-scale spatially explicit modelling to analyse the cost and greenhouse gas mitigation potential for such fuels in this region.
Net energy implications of the energy transition have primarily been assessed at the final energy stage to date. New research considers the useful-stage energy return on investment and finds that wind and solar photovoltaics outperform fossil fuels, shedding light on their investment potential.