Reviews & Analysis

Technology breakthroughs will tilt the long-term balance between oil demand and the resource base of oil and gas. According to Amy Myers Jaffe, energy markets will be characterized by the growing tension between low carbon efforts led by the US and the strategies of large oil exporting countries.

Lower-cost alternatives to platinum electrocatalysts are being explored for the sustainable production of hydrogen, but often trial-and-error approaches are used for their development. Now, principles are elucidated that suggest pathways to rationally design efficient metal-free electrocatalysts based on doped graphene.

The US National Labs will continue to play a crucial role in developing energy science and technology, yet their operation is not without its problems. Anadon et al. discuss the challenges faced by the Labs and propose changes that can help them to better meet their goals.

Increasing the penetration of distributed generation and smart grid technologies requires substantial investments. A study proposes an innovative approach that combines four regulatory tools to provide economic incentives for distribution system operators to facilitate these innovative practices.

Fuel cells typically function well only in rather limited temperature and humidity ranges. Now, a proton exchange membrane consisting of ion pair complexes is shown to enable improved fuel cell performance under a wide range of conditions that are unattainable with conventional approaches.

The development of rechargeable batteries that use metallic lithium anodes faces challenges such as dendrite formation. Here the authors review recent advances in preventing the proliferation of dendrite and discuss design principles for electrolytes and interfaces in lithium-metal batteries.

Lithium–air batteries offer great promise for high-energy storage capability but also pose tremendous challenges for their realization. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding the fundamental science that governs lithium–air battery operation, focusing on the reactions at the oxygen electrode.

Li–S batteries are a low-cost and high-energy storage system but their full potential is yet to be realized. This Review surveys recent advances in understanding polysulfide chemistry at the positive electrode and the electrolyte and discusses approaches towards long-life and high-loading batteries.

The solar-driven generation of water steam at 100 °C under one sun normally requires the use of optical concentrators to provide the necessary energy flux. Now, thermal concentration is used to raise the vapour temperature to 100 °C without the need for costly optical concentrators.

For uptake of electric vehicles to increase, consumers' driving-range needs must be fulfilled. Analysis of the driving patterns of personal vehicles in the US now shows that today's electric vehicles can meet all travel needs on almost 90% of days from a single overnight charge.

Electricity distribution system planners rely on estimations of future energy demand to build adequate supply, but these are complicated to achieve. An approach that combines spatially resolved projections of population movement and climate change offers a method for building better demand maps to mid-century.

In the development of lithium–air batteries, managing the phase change between gaseous oxygen and crystalline lithium peroxide is a key challenge. Now, a high-performing sealed battery with an oxygen anion-redox electrode is presented that does not involve any gas evolution.

Energy-saving programmes are increasingly targeted at children to encourage household energy conservation. A study involving the assignment of energy-saving interventions to Girl Scouts shows that a child-focused intervention can improve energy-saving behaviours among children and their parents.

Cheap energy can encourage economic growth but it can also force economies into specific energy-intensive futures. Roger Fouquet argues that path dependence in energy systems has profound implications for an economy and should be considered carefully before governments make choices about energy provision.

The electronic properties of halide perovskites vary significantly between crystalline grains, but the impact of this heterogeneity on solar cell performance is unclear. Now, this variability is shown to limit the photovoltaic properties of solar cells, and its origins are linked to differing properties between crystal facets.

The major obstacle in the development of Li–S batteries is the undesired dissolution of polysulfide intermediates produced during electrochemical reactions. Now, a metal–organic framework-based separator is shown to mitigate the problem, leading to stable long cycles.

The conversion of low-grade waste heat into electrical energy is an attractive opportunity to harvest a sustainable energy resource. A thermo-osmotic energy conversion process that uses Earth-abundant materials has now been shown to convert waste heat into electrical energy from sources at temperatures as low as 40 °C.

Persistent and significant curtailment has cast concern over the prospects of wind power in China. A comprehensive assessment of the production of energy from wind has identified grid-integrated wind generation potential at 11.9–14% of China's projected energy demand by 2030.

Energy storage offers potential to support a changing electricity sector, but investors remain uncertain about its attractiveness. Analysis now shows that this can be overcome for battery technology by providing more than one storage service in a single facility.

Nanomaterials design may offer a solution to tackle many fundamental problems in conventional batteries. Cui et al. review both the promises and challenges of using nanomaterials in lithium-based rechargeable batteries.