Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Progress in photovoltaic technology could soon mean grid parity for solar electricity. In this issue we highlight scientific as well as science-policy strategies aimed towards achieving this goal.
The funding approach taken by the US Department of Energy's SunShot programme, which aims to develop competitive solar technology, has proved very successful. Its director, R. Ramesh, explains why.
For decades, solar-cell efficiencies have remained below the thermodynamic limits. However, new approaches to light management that systematically minimize thermodynamic losses will enable ultrahigh efficiencies previously considered impossible.
Oxide materials show an amazing variety of electronic and ionic phenomena. However, despite considerable advances in understanding and utilizing these effects, experimental and theoretical challenges still need to be addressed before the promised applications can be realized.
Interfaces formed by transition-metal oxide materials offer a tremendous opportunity for fundamental as well as applied research. Yet, as exciting as these opportunities are, several challenges remain.
