Nature Energy

Electrolyte design curbs side reactions - Nature Energy Aqueous zinc-ion batteries offer strong potential for high-energy grid storage but rely on acidic conditions that cause severe zinc corrosion. Now, a hybrid eutectic aqueous–organic electrolyte is reported that suppresses side reactions and enables highly reversible, durable Zn‖MnO2 cycling without added acid.

Electrolyte design curbs side reactions ¦ Christel Laberty-Robert discusses new research on a hybrid eutectic aqueous–organic electrolyte which suppresses side reactions and enables highly reversible, durable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Dual-side electrical refinement enables efficient industrial tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells - Nature Energy Tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells are a promising next-generation photovoltaic technology. Yang et al. engineer the front and back contact, further increasing the power conversion efficiency to 26.66%.

Zhenhai Yang et al. engineer the front and back contacts, increasing the power conversion efficiency of tunnel oxide passivated contact silicon solar cells to 26.66%.

Regulating grain growth via Li2SnS3 interphase in kesterite solar cells with certified efficiencies exceeding 15% - Nature Energy Selenization is a key step in kesterite solar cell fabrication, but controlling ion migration during this process is challenging. Cui et al. address this issue by introducing a Li2SnS3 interphase, achieving a certified power conversion efficiency of 15.0%.

Guanglei Cui and colleagues introduce a Li2SnS3 interphase to control the selenization process in kesterite solar cells, achieving a certified efficiency of 15.0%. Read more about their findings here:

Addressing context-specific energy modelling risks and dynamics in low- and middle-income countries - Nature Energy Low- and middle-income countries face unique challenges when it comes to balancing growing energy needs with broader, long-term development needs. This Perspective argues for innovative, context-specific modelling practices to support these goals.

Low and Middle-Income Countries face unique challenges when it comes to balancing growing energy needs with broader, long-term development needs. This Perspective argues for innovative, context specific modelling practices to support these goals.

New Research Briefing: Suppressing intermediate crystallization for flexible tandem solar cells.

In this Perspective, Sanya Carley and colleagues provide an overview of the many levers, or opportunities, that electricity sector actors have to reduce energy insecurity and its impact in the United States.

Dry electrode architecture design to push energy density limits at the cell level - Nature Energy Conventional slurry electrodes limit high-energy lithium batteries. This work shows that dry-processed electrodes with molecularly coupled carbon–binder networks enable high mass and active material loading, supporting stable high-voltage operation and enhancing battery energy density.

Ying Shirley Meng and team show that dry-processed electrodes with molecularly coupled carbon–binder networks enable high mass loading, supporting stable high-voltage operation and higher battery energy density.

A cation-functionalized layer for ethylene electrosynthesis via CO reduction paired with H2 oxidation in a pure-water-fed solid-state electrolyser - Nature Energy Electroreduction of CO is an emerging route to produce multicarbon molecules, but achieving this efficiently in solid-state devices is challenging. Here the authors develop a cation-functionalized layer using polyacrylate in a solid-state electrolyser that produces ethylene stably and efficiently from syngas.

.@tedsargentNU_TO, @Bosi_Peng and colleagues report use of a cation-functionalized layer in a solid-state electrolyser that produces ethylene stably and efficiently from syngas.

Knowledge interdependencies between lithium- and sodium-ion battery chemistries - Nature Energy How knowledge is shared across different battery chemistries is important to industrial strategy and techno-economic forecasting but remains poorly understood. Here the authors perform large language model-based patent analysis of over 15,000 families and show sustained knowledge flows between and within lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries, indicating interdependence across chemistries.

Tobias Schmidt and colleagues use LLM-based patent analysis of over 15,000 families to show sustained knowledge flows within and between Li-ion and Na-ion batteries, highlighting interdependence across chemistries.

Atomistic origins of anharmonic lattice dynamics and thermal expansion in perovskite photovoltaics - Nature Energy Metal halide perovskites exhibit anharmonic lattice vibrations, which lead to high rates of thermal expansion in solar cells. In this Review, Julian A. Steele links the atomistic origins of these effects to the macroscopic thermo-mechanical properties of the materials and devices.

In this Review, Julian A. Steele links the atomistic origins of anharmonic lattice vibrations in metal halide perovskites to the macroscopic thermo-mechanical properties of the materials and solar cells.

Charge and slip-length optimization in lipid-bilayer-coated nanofluidics for enhanced osmotic energy harvesting - Nature Energy Salinity gradients can be converted into electrical energy via charge-selective membranes. Here the authors report a nanofluidic system based on stalactite nanopore membranes functionalized with charged lipid bilayers for osmotic energy harvesting with enhanced ion transport and charge separation efficiency.

.@LabRadenovic report stalactite nanopore membranes functionalised with charged lipid bilayers for osmotic energy harvesting with enhanced ion transport and charge separation efficiency.

Durable alloy anode for Na-ion batteries with high volumetric energy density - Nature Energy Alloy anodes can boost the energy density of Na-ion batteries but suffer from instability, and current strategies trade off performance and scalability. Here the authors develop a high-loading Sn anode reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotube networks, achieving high capacity and long-term cycling performance.

Yongsheng Hu and team develop durable Sn anodes for Na-ion batteries with high volumetric energy density.

Early market opportunity for long-duration energy storage - Nature Energy Multi-day, long-duration energy storage (LDES) is essential for decarbonizing the power grid, yet grid-scale deployment of LDES faces steep cost, scale and risk barriers. Behind-the-meter backup power applications for large commercial and medical facilities offer an early market; targeting this could overcome all three barriers and accelerate the adoption of LDES.

In this Comment, Jeffrey Marqusee discusses early market opportunity for long-duration energy storage.

Electrified reversible surface mineralization of CO2 for direct air capture - Nature Energy Electrified CO2 capture from air could lead to net-negative emissions, yet current methods face high energy costs and sensitivity to oxygen. Here the authors introduce an electrochemical approach using MnO2 as a stable, redox-active sorbent, achieving CO2 capture with promising energy consumption and minimal oxygen sensitivity.

Edward Sargent, Ke Xie, and colleagues report an electrochemical approach to CO2 capture using MnO2 as a stable, redox-active sorbent.

In this Perspective, Sanya Carley and colleagues provide an overview of the many levers, or opportunities, that electricity sector actors have to reduce energy insecurity and its impact in the United States.

Photoswitchable isomers to improve grain boundary resilience and perovskite solar cells stability under light cycling - Nature Energy The operational stability of perovskite solar cells remains a challenge. Zhang et al. incorporate photoswitchable isomers at grain boundaries to improve their resilience and the stability of the solar cells under light cycling and ultraviolet exposure.

Zuhong Zhang and colleagues introduce photoswitchable isomers at grain boundaries to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells under light cycling and ultraviolet exposure.

Cross-field lessons in energy research Energy technologies may differ in how they operate and what they aim to achieve, yet many challenges recur across different subfields of energy research.

Nature Energy published a Focus issue on Cross-field lessons in energy research. The issue highlights shared challenges across energy technologies and how insights from one area can drive progress in another.

Mechanistic understanding of interphase-driven ageing in silicon anodes - Nature Energy Silicon anodes promise much higher battery capacity but are limited by poor storage life. This work identifies key ageing mechanisms and suggests ways to improve long-term stability.

Chunsheng Wang and team reveal the mechanisms behind calendar aging, propose an accelerated testing method, and suggest paths to improve storage life through SEI design and electrode engineering.

Harnessing interfacial solvation structure for next-generation secondary batteries - Nature Energy Ion–solvent interactions at battery interfaces share parallels with solvation effects in catalysis. This analysis examines how interfacial solvation structures influence interphase formation and charge transfer, offering insights into electrochemical behaviour under complex conditions.

In this Perspective, Shizhang Qiao et al. argue that ion-solvent interactions at battery interfaces, akin to solvation effects in catalysis, govern interphase formation and charge transfer, offering a framework to rethink electrochemical behavior.

Uniform pore structure enables negligible degradation in undoped and uncoated Ni-rich cathodes - Nature Energy Nickel-rich layered oxide cathodes suffer from chemomechanical degradation, and current mitigation methods require complex syntheses. Here the researchers show that simple control of LiOH melting produces uniform microstructures that stabilize the cathodes without doping or coatings.

Will Chueh and colleagues found a way to make high-performance battery materials more stable and evenly structured, without adding extra chemicals or coatings.

Self-assembled molecules with hydrogen-bond networks enable efficient all-perovskite tandem solar cells - Nature Energy Self-assembled monolayers are efficient hole-selective contacts but suffer from aggregation and adhesion issues. To address these, Wang et al. introduce a dimeric molecular design that forms a hydrogen-bond network, enabling 28.4% certified efficiency in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Deng Wang et al. introduce a dimeric molecular design of self-assembled monolayers that forms a hydrogen-bond network, enabling 28.4% certified efficiency in all-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Crystallization suppression of mixed-halide intermediates for perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 tandem solar cells with improved efficiency - Nature Energy The efficiency of perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 tandem solar cells is limited by halide segregation in the perovskite layer. Zhang et al. use 2-pyrrolidinone to slow the crystallization of halide intermediates, ensuring a homogeneous distribution and achieving a power conversion efficiency of 27.3%.

Jingjing Xue and team use 2-pyrrolidinone to slow halide intermediates crystallization in wide bandgap perovskites, achieving 27.3% efficiency perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells.

Charge and slip-length optimization in lipid-bilayer-coated nanofluidics for enhanced osmotic energy harvesting - Nature Energy Salinity gradients can be converted into electrical energy via charge-selective membranes. Here the authors report a nanofluidic system based on stalactite nanopore membranes functionalized with charged lipid bilayers for osmotic energy harvesting with enhanced ion transport and charge separation efficiency.

Aleksandra Radenovic and team report stalactite nanopore membranes functionalised with charged lipid bilayers for osmotic energy harvesting with enhanced ion transport and charge separation efficiency.

Energy packed tightly ¦ Husam Alshareef discusses new research on a dense alloy anode design for electrical connectivity during cycling of sodium-ion batteries.

Electrolyte design curbs side reactions - Nature Energy Aqueous zinc-ion batteries offer strong potential for high-energy grid storage but rely on acidic conditions that cause severe zinc corrosion. Now, a hybrid eutectic aqueous–organic electrolyte is reported that suppresses side reactions and enables highly reversible, durable Zn‖MnO2 cycling without added acid.

Electrolyte design curbs side reactions ¦ Christel Laberty-Robert discusses new research on a hybrid eutectic aqueous–organic electrolyte which suppresses side reactions and enables highly reversible, durable aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Lessons from copper indium gallium sulfo-selenide solar cells for progressing perovskite photovoltaics - Nature Energy Perovskite photovoltaics could benefit from insights gained through the longer history of other photovoltaic technologies. In this Perspective, Bermudez and colleagues examine how lessons from the successes and failures of copper indium gallium selenide solar cells can guide future progress.

In this Perspective, Mirjana Dimitrievska, Veronica Bermudez Benito, and team examine how lessons from the successes and failures of copper indium gallium selenide solar cells can guide future progress of perovskite photovoltaics.

Dual-side electrical refinement enables efficient industrial tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells - Nature Energy Tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells are a promising next-generation photovoltaic technology. Yang et al. engineer the front and back contact, further increasing the power conversion efficiency to 26.66%.

Zhenhai Yang et al. engineer the front and back contacts, increasing the power conversion efficiency of tunnel oxide passivated contact silicon solar cells to 26.66%.

Addressing context-specific energy modelling risks and dynamics in low- and middle-income countries - Nature Energy Low- and middle-income countries face unique challenges when it comes to balancing growing energy needs with broader, long-term development needs. This Perspective argues for innovative, context-specific modelling practices to support these goals.

Low and Middle-Income Countries face unique challenges when it comes to balancing growing energy needs with broader, long-term development needs. This Perspective argues for innovative, context specific modelling practices to support these goals.

Nature Energy published a Meeting Report on a Green Power Innovation Conference, where international experts shared advances in renewable energy and discussed urgent solutions to accelerate the energy transition to 2030.

Suppressing intermediate crystallization for flexible tandem solar cells - Nature Energy A crystallization strategy enables the successful deposition, through blade-coating under ambient conditions, of phase-pure, wide-bandgap perovskite films with a homogeneous halide distribution. Using this approach, a monolithic perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)Se2 tandem solar cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 27.3% and exhibited high operational stability.

New Research Briefing: Suppressing intermediate crystallization for flexible tandem solar cells.