Research articles

Copper catalyses electrochemical reduction of CO₂ to valuable multicarbon products, but its selectivity depends on the local microenvironment near the catalyst surface. Here, the authors explore and optimize this environment to improve performance using bilayer ionomer coatings to control the local pH and CO₂/H₂O ratio.

Many socioeconomic growth and low-emission energy scenarios do not consider impacts on clean cooking access and have yet to account for the COVID pandemic. Pachauri et al. now examine how clean cooking access evolves under various scenarios post COVID and find the need for policy focused on increasing access more urgent.

Li electrodeposition is a fundamental process in Li metal batteries and its reversibility is crucial for battery operation. The authors investigate the effects of stack pressure on Li deposition and associated processes and discuss strategies for achieving dense Li deposits and practical Li metal batteries.

Understanding degradation mechanisms in perovskite solar cells is key to their development. Now, Guo et al. show a greater degradation of the perovskite structure and morphology for devices operated under vacuum than under nitrogen.

Major shifts in the structure, the levels and the locations of energy use were observed during COVID-19 lockdowns. However, uncertainty remains about the persistence and thus the long-term effects of these changes on the energy system. Kikstra et al. now present various energy scenarios that build on observed changes in energy use to achieve a low-emission global future.

The dominance of gasoline vehicles in the automotive market has been attributed to techno-economic factors, though the role of infrastructure development remains understudied. Taalbi and Nielsen quantify the impact of rates of highway and electricity infrastructure development in the technology choice in the early automotive industry

Urea oxidation could be a lower-energy alternative to water oxidation in hydrogen-producing electrolysers, but improved catalysts are required to facilitate the reaction. Geng et al. report nickel ferrocyanide as a promising catalyst and suggest that it operates via a different pathway to that of previous materials.

There are racial and wealth disparities in the adoption of distributed solar energy, although the potential for infrastructure limits to exacerbate these disparities is not well understood. Brockway et al. estimate the potential impact of grid infrastructure limitations on the adoption of distributed energy resources by demographic groups in California.

Techno-economic studies of photovoltaic solar cells recycling and reuse often do not take into account the impact of social factors. Walzberg et al. use an agent-based model to estimate the quantitative impact of behavioural choices on photovoltaic recycling efficacy.

Public response to energy projects plays a critical role in the development of energy technologies. Fedor Dokshin analyses individually authored comments submitted during a regulatory review of fracking in New York to understand the diversity of public discourse and how it varies with project proximity.

Metal–organic framework membranes may be able to separate mixtures of hydrocarbons in an energy-efficient manner, but high-quality robust membranes are difficult to prepare. Here, Zhou et al. fabricate high-performance continuous metal–organic framework membranes using an electrochemical method.

Highly active oxygen reduction catalysts that are free of platinum group metals would decrease the cost of fuel cells. Here, the authors report on a commercial Fe–N–C-based catalyst that can replace platinum group metal-based catalysts in the cathodes of anion-exchange membrane fuel cells without a severe loss of performance.

Energy system scenarios to meet climate mitigation goals rarely explore the evolution of energy access and equity. Now, Poblete-Cazenave et al. show that, under many baseline and decarbonization scenarios, energy access for people in Africa and South Asia remains insufficient.

The development of aqueous organic redox flow batteries suffers from the limited availability of high-performance catholytes. Here the authors design a metal organic complex catholyte material with a tunable redox potential, which offers promise for high-energy long-lasting flow batteries.

Behavioural interventions can reduce energy consumption and hence carbon emissions among households. Khanna et al. compare the effectiveness of different types of monetary and non-monetary household interventions using a machine learning-assisted meta-analysis, and examine the situations where each is most useful.

Light-driven catalytic conversion of CO₂ to fuels and chemicals presents a way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but new strategies are needed to improve performance. Here the authors find that greenhouse effects can be exploited in photothermal catalysts to enhance their ability to produce methane and carbon monoxide.

Algorithms are critical to modern energy systems but their design often overlooks the perspective of key stakeholders. Through an interdisciplinary process, Ransan-Cooper et al. design different algorithms to control neighbourhood-scale batteries that highlight variations in allocation of risk and benefit.

Growth of wind and solar energy share demonstrates different dynamics between the initial phases of adoption as compared with the advanced stages. Cherp et al. study the growth dynamics of renewable energy and show that laggards may continue to struggle to achieve high growth rates despite learning from early adopters’ experience.

Electrochemical reduction of CO₂ can generate fuel precursors and additives, yet the set of possible products and overall efficiency are limited. Now, Lee et al. exploit redox-neutral reactions to form dimethyl carbonate from CO₂ in methanol with 60% Faradaic efficiency and extend the scheme to diethyl carbonate.

The impact of extreme weather events driven by climate change is increasingly disrupting energy assets and services. Using operational data of nuclear reactors, Ali Ahmad identifies how disruptions in nuclear power production have increased over the years with increasing temperature anomalies, and projects future loss of output.