Nature Energy is an online-only journal interested in all aspects of energy, from its generation and storage, to its distribution and management, the needs and demands of the different actors involved, and the impacts that energy technologies and policies have on different societies. The journal has a particular interest in studies that advance our knowledge and inform the development of next-generation technologies and solutions. Nature Energy publishes research from the natural, behavioural and social sciences.
Updated: 1 hour 42 min ago
Aromatic amines boost electrolysis
Nature Energy, Published online: 30 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01765-1
The slow kinetics of hydrogen evolution in alkaline solutions limit the current density of alkaline electrolysers. Research now demonstrates that the addition of aromatic amines to the electrolyte enhances alkaline hydrogen evolution, a strategy that is readily applicable to existing electrolysers.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Scaling and heating will drive low-temperature CO<sub>2</sub> electrolysers to operate at higher temperatures
Nature Energy, Published online: 28 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01745-5
Low-temperature CO2 electrolysers are often tested at ambient temperature, yet this may not be optimal for larger-scale systems. In this Perspective Pelzer et al. argue that heat generation, due to the energy inefficiency of electrolysers, will favour elevated operating temperatures of 40–70 °C.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Author Correction: H<sub>2</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> network strategies for the European energy system
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01780-2
Author Correction: H2 and CO2 network strategies for the European energy system
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Elucidating mechanisms of change
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01764-2
Understanding the mechanisms of improvements in energy technologies can inform efforts to drive further innovation. Now, researchers evaluate the role of research and development, along with technology spillovers, in the improvement of light-emitting diodes.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Rapid technological progress in white light-emitting diodes and its source in innovation and technology spillovers
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01757-1
From 2003 to 2020, the efficiency of white light-emitting diodes rose from 6% to 39%, while costs fell by 96%. Weinold et al. explore the drivers of such rapid progress to formulate lessons for future clean energy innovation.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Understanding non-compliance
Nature Energy, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01771-3
Understanding non-compliance
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Rethinking molecular O<sub>2</sub>
Nature Energy, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01772-2
Rethinking molecular O2
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
A job for vacancies
Nature Energy, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01770-4
A job for vacancies
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Accelerated degradation
Nature Energy, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01773-1
Accelerated degradation
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Spin-related and non-spin-related effects of magnetic fields on water oxidation
Nature Energy, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01744-6
Magnetic fields have been shown to improve water oxidation performance, but the nature of the underlying promotional mechanisms remains unclear. In this Review the authors examine the possible phenomena at play and provide guidance on how to determine whether key enhancements derive from spin-related effects or not.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Interdependence and the low-carbon energy transition
Nature Energy, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01762-4
Llewelyn Hughes is a social scientist working on the low-carbon energy transition, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region, and Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He talks to Nature Energy about evolving trade relationships and interdependencies in the energy transition, and the role of social sciences research in informing policy in these spaces.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Lessons learned from Los Angeles’s just energy transition initiative
Nature Energy, Published online: 22 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01759-z
Lessons learned from Los Angeles’s just energy transition initiative
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
An antisolvent-seeding approach to produce stable flexible tandem solar cells
Nature Energy, Published online: 18 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01766-0
An antisolvent-seeding strategy enhanced self-assembled monolayer formation, enabling the growth of high-quality perovskite top cells on flexible Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 bottom cells. A 1 cm2 flexible tandem solar cell produced using this approach achieved a certified efficiency of 23.8% and is photostable and mechanically durable.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Antisolvent seeding of self-assembled monolayers for flexible monolithic perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)Se<sub>2</sub> tandem solar cells
Nature Energy, Published online: 18 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01760-6
The uneven surfaces of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells pose challenges for depositing the upper layers in flexible perovskite/CIGS tandem solar cells. Ying et al. tackle this issue using an antisolvent and seeding strategy, resulting in a certified efficiency of 23.8%.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Accelerating commercial deployment with hydrogen system testbeds
Nature Energy, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01758-0
Hydrogen system testbeds powered by renewables at kilowatt–megawatt scale reduce technical and financial risk by providing evidence to inform decisions on economic viability for investments at commercial scale. Future-proofing these testbeds to ‘plug and play’ new components or technologies may accelerate low-regret uptake of innovation.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Combining the use of CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub> networks benefits carbon management in Europe
Nature Energy, Published online: 11 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01753-5
An analysis of European carbon management shows that CO2 and H2 networks can complement each other. Transporting CO2 and H2 from low-cost regions with high availability to areas that process the two molecules into clean fuels or sequester CO2 could reduce total energy system costs by up to 5.3%.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
H<sub>2</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> network strategies for the European energy system
Nature Energy, Published online: 11 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01752-6
This study on European carbon management shows how H2 and CO2 networks influence whether CO2 is transported to renewable hubs and sequestration sites or H2 is delivered to industrial sites for producing clean fuels from captured CO2.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Ratepayer-backed bonds for utility financings
Nature Energy, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01755-3
Utilities are increasingly using ratepayer-backed bonds (RBBs) to provide financial protection against extreme weather and more broadly, the energy transition. Consequently, we outline best practices for public utility commissions and ratepayer advocates to reduce financing costs and protect ratepayers in the execution of RBBs.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Heat treatment in an oxygen-rich environment to suppress deep-level traps in Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> solar cell with 11.51% certified efficiency
Nature Energy, Published online: 10 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01756-2
The efficiency of pure sulfide kesterite solar cells is limited by deep-level defects. Wu et al. develop a heat treatment in an oxygen-rich environment to suppress sulfur vacancies, achieving an 11.51% certified efficiency.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Rooftop solar can reduce energy insecurity
Nature Energy, Published online: 09 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01750-8
Results from a large-scale survey of low-to-moderate income households in the USA show that the installation of rooftop solar panels decreased energy insecurity by 15–46% across five different measures. Policies that support the uptake of rooftop solar could therefore be used to reduce the incidence of energy insecurity.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)