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: 13 min 29 sec ago
A relational approach to characterizing householder perceptions of disruption in heat transitions
Nature Energy, Published online: 23 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01506-w
A new study considers how disruption to energy systems is experienced and takes on meaning. On the basis of workshop data, the study finds that public views of heat decarbonization in the United Kingdom are shaped by relationships to family, cultural expectations, housing and financial position.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Artificial intelligence-aided wind plant optimization for nationwide evaluation of land use and economic benefits of wake steering
Nature Energy, Published online: 22 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01516-8
Wind farms would benefit from optimization of their design and operation. Harrison-Atlas et al. report an artificial intelligence-aided optimization approach that shows the potential of wake steering strategies to minimize land requirements and costs.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Potential for small and micro modular reactors to electrify developing regions
Nature Energy, Published online: 19 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01512-y
A new study assesses global small-scale nuclear power reactor deployment suitability, finding that reactors in the 1–50 MWe range could serve 70.9% of the population living in regions without night-time light. However, governance and economic issues eliminate 95% of the potential market.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Increase in the efficiency and stability of large-area flexible organic photovoltaic modules via improved electrical contact
Nature Energy, Published online: 18 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01501-1
Organic solar modules suffer from poor electrical contacts. Lu et al. embed the silver electrode into a polymer matrix and add chromium to enhance its electrical contact, achieving improved stability and a 14.04% efficiency on flexible modules with an active area of 41 cm2.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Understanding entropic barriers
Nature Energy, Published online: 17 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01502-0
The activation barriers of interfacial energy conversion reactions are key to controlling the efficiency of electrolysers. Work on the structural dynamics of water during charge transfer at electrified solid/liquid interfaces now brings greater understanding of the components of the activation barriers for water dissociation and hydrogen evolution.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Flexible quasi-2D perovskite solar cells with high specific power and improved stability for energy-autonomous drones
Nature Energy, Published online: 17 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01500-2
Demonstration of high performance, upscaling and integration of ultra-lightweight perovskite solar cells are still rare. Hailegnaw et al. develop 2D perovskite solar cells based on methylbenzyl ammonium iodide with improved specific power and stability, showing scalability and integration in drones.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Floating photovoltaics may reduce the risk of hydro-dominated energy development in Africa
Nature Energy, Published online: 12 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01510-0
A new study finds that strategically integrating floating solar panels on reservoirs could substitute 20–100% of Africa’s planned hydropower by 2050. For the Zambezi watercourse, this approach generates a more stable electricity supply compared with hydro-dominated development.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
High-resolution meteorology with climate change impacts from global climate model data using generative machine learning
Nature Energy, Published online: 09 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01507-9
Global climate models are challenging to integrate in energy system models because their output data resolution is too coarse. Buster et al. generate high-resolution meteorological data with climate change impacts from global climate model datasets using generative machine learning.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Hidden potential of lithium oxide
Nature Energy, Published online: 08 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01509-7
One of the major challenges in realizing lithium (Li)-metal batteries is the instability of Li metal in the electrolyte. Now, a study unveils the significant role of lithium oxide in protecting Li metal, thereby contributing to stable battery operation.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Towards responsible and fair pay-as-you-go energy access in sub-Saharan Africa
Nature Energy, Published online: 08 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01490-1
Pay-as-you-go energy systems are a promising market-based approach to paying for energy in small amounts in sub-Saharan Africa; however, implementation and the suitability of current business models show room for improvement. This Perspective outlines an agenda for more inclusive PAYG systems.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
High lithium oxide prevalence in the lithium solid–electrolyte interphase for high Coulombic efficiency
Nature Energy, Published online: 08 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01494-x
Electrolyte design strategies for lithium batteries rely on tailoring the composition of lithium–electrolyte interphases. Here lithium oxide is shown to be a key component of these interphases, making oxygenation an effective approach to achieve high efficiency.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Publisher Correction: Reduced recombination via tunable surface fields in perovskite thin films
Nature Energy, Published online: 05 April 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01517-7
Publisher Correction: Reduced recombination via tunable surface fields in perovskite thin films
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Lithium inventory tracking as a non-destructive battery evaluation and monitoring method
Nature Energy, Published online: 29 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01476-z
Capacity is often used to evaluate and monitor battery state and health. Now, lithium inventory transactions can be accurately tracked at the electrode–electrolyte interface to improve battery performance and reliability.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Suppression of phase segregation in wide-bandgap perovskites with thiocyanate ions for perovskite/organic tandems with 25.06% efficiency
Nature Energy, Published online: 29 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01491-0
Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells suffer from phase segregation. Zhang et al. show that thiocyanate ions overcome the issue by occupying iodide vacancies while regulating crystallization, enabling perovskite/organic tandem cells with 25.06% efficiency.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Breaking the reaction chain
Nature Energy, Published online: 28 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01503-z
Wide band gap perovskite solar cells suffer from halide segregation, which hampers their use in tandem solar cells. Now, researchers develop an additive with redox and defect passivating capabilities to suppress halide migration, enabling perovskite–organic tandems with over 25% efficiency.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Ion-induced field screening as a dominant factor in perovskite solar cell operational stability
Nature Energy, Published online: 28 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01487-w
Understating degradation pathways is critical to the development of perovskite photovoltaics. Thiesbrummel et al. show that internal electric field screening induced by ion migration is a dominant contributor to the operational performance loss of perovskite solar cells.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Exploring the potential of non-residential solar to tackle energy injustice
Nature Energy, Published online: 28 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01485-y
A new study from Moritz Wussow and colleagues assesses solar deployment equity across residential and non-residential sectors and discusses pathways for policy action to promote non-residential solar in disadvantaged communities.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Delivery of CO
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01495-w
Delivery of CO
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Tolerance testing
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01498-7
Tolerance testing
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Clean cooking in rural Namibia
Nature Energy, Published online: 25 March 2024; doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01496-9
Clean cooking in rural Namibia
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)