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: 2 days 16 hours ago
Preserving subsistence practices
Nature Energy, Published online: 21 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01849-y
Preserving subsistence practices
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Branching out
Nature Energy, Published online: 21 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01848-z
Branching out
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Manufacturing in full flow
Nature Energy, Published online: 21 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01850-5
Manufacturing in full flow
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Photocatalytic oxidative coupling of methane to C<sub>3</sub>+ hydrocarbons via nanopore-confined microenvironments
Nature Energy, Published online: 19 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01834-5
Methane can be converted into other useful chemicals and fuels via photocatalytic oxidative coupling, yet producing molecules with more than two carbon atoms remains difficult. Here the authors show that highly strained Au confined within the nanopores of TiO2 can convert methane to propane with high selectivity.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Inert low-dimensional interfaces for perovskite solar cells
Nature Energy, Published online: 18 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01818-5
A selective templating growth strategy unlocks access to a previously inaccessible class of chemically inert low-dimensional (CI LD) interfaces for the protection of the underlying three-dimensional (3D) perovskite in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Prototype 1-cm2 3D/CI LD PSCs achieve an efficiency of over 25% and exhibit high operational and thermal stability.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Unified affinity paradigm for the rational design of high-efficiency lithium metal electrolytes
Nature Energy, Published online: 13 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01842-5
Electrolyte design is key for high-energy lithium metal batteries, but structure–performance links are hard to predict. A framework using the normalized cation/anion–solvent affinity enables quantitative prediction of microstructure, transport and interphase, driving exceptional performance.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
The critical importance of stack pressure in batteries
Nature Energy, Published online: 13 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01820-x
Stack pressure plays a critical role in battery performance, influencing electrochemical behaviour, material integrity and system efficiency. The authors analyse existing stack pressure data and establish relationships between stack pressure and battery performance to provide insights for improving battery design and efficiency.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Intralattice-bonded phase-engineered ultrahigh-Ni single-crystalline cathodes suppress strain evolution
Nature Energy, Published online: 12 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01827-4
Single-crystal Ni-rich cathodes improve mechanical stability but suffer from long diffusion paths and structural strain. This study presents an intralattice-bonded design that achieves near-zero degradation and exceptional cycling performance.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Enhancing hole-conductor-free, printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells through post-fabrication treatment via electrophilic reaction
Nature Energy, Published online: 08 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01823-8
Printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells are a promising device design, yet their efficiency is limited by charge collection. Ma et al. use hexamethylene diisocyanate to eliminate unreacted organic cations at grain boundaries, enhancing hole collection.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Exceeding the kilowatt threshold
Nature Energy, Published online: 07 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01835-4
Elastocaloric cooling is a promising alternative to conventional vapour-compression systems, but greater cooling power is needed for practical use. Now, a series of design optimizations have produced an elastocaloric system delivering kilowatt-scale cooling power, a milestone towards practical solid-state cooling.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Impurity-tolerant catalysis
Nature Energy, Published online: 06 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01832-7
Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) can store and transport hydrogen using existing fuel infrastructure, but typically require fossil-derived storage compounds, precious-metal catalysts and pure hydrogen feeds. Now, a diol/lactone LOHC system in combination with an inverse Al2O3/Cu catalyst addresses all three issues.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Exceptional layered cathode stability at 4.8 V via supersaturated high-valence cation design
Nature Energy, Published online: 06 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01831-8
Ni-rich layered cathodes promise higher energy density at high voltages, but suffer from poor cycling stability. This study improves stability by introducing a supersaturated high-valence cation surface layer that stabilizes the structure and suppresses side reactions for durable cycling at 4.8 V.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Passivation by design
Nature Energy, Published online: 01 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01826-5
The chemistry at the lithium metal–electrolyte interface determines the cycling stability of lithium-metal electrodes but is challenging to control. A new study demonstrates that polymer coatings can both passivate the reactive lithium metal and selectively modulate interfacial electrolyte species, enabling stable cycling of high-energy-density pouch cells.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Solar and batteries are affordable options for US households
Nature Energy, Published online: 01 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01822-9
A majority of US households can reduce energy costs and access affordable backup power during outages through rooftop solar and battery storage. Policymakers need to evaluate and adopt measures to ensure high-outage-risk and energy-burdened communities have equitable access to these adaptation solutions as climate impacts intensify outages.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Solar and battery can reduce energy costs and provide affordable outage backup for US households
Nature Energy, Published online: 01 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01821-w
Rooftop solar and battery storage can reduce energy costs and provide affordable back-up power for over 60% of US households, but benefits often bypass the high outage risk and disadvantaged communities most in need.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Selective templating growth of chemically inert low-dimensional interfaces for perovskite solar cells
Nature Energy, Published online: 01 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01815-8
Low-dimensional perovskites afford high efficiencies in solar cells but at the expense of stability. Rao et al. develop a template growth approach to form low-dimensional perovskites from low-reactivity and hence more stable organic cations.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
The impact of variability
Nature Energy, Published online: 23 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01828-3
The impact of variability
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Cleaner lithium, better batteries
Nature Energy, Published online: 23 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01830-9
Cleaner lithium, better batteries
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
Balancing colour and efficiency
Nature Energy, Published online: 23 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01829-2
Balancing colour and efficiency
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)
The power of the gyroid
Nature Energy, Published online: 18 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41560-025-01816-7
The effective surface area of a solid oxide cell has a direct impact on its performance but maximizing it within a limited volume or mass remains a major challenge. Now, research reports a three-dimensional-structured ‘gyroidal’ solid oxide cell design that exhibits a significantly higher surface area and promising performance metrics per unit volume and mass.
Categories: Nanoscience News (<front>)