In a recent issue of Device, Yip and co-workers reported a self-adaptive interfacial evaporation system that integrates passive evaporative cooling with an active water management pathway. The semi-passive/semi-active system offers a novel and intelligent paradigm for high-efficiency photovoltaic cooling, characterized by near-zero energy usage and low water consumption.

The low H2 concentration in most natural gas pipelines poses challenges, leading to high separation/compression costs. In a recent issue of Nature Energy, Kim and co-workers demonstrated a tandem electrochemical hydrogen pump system that reveals high-purity and low-cost H2 extraction from mixtures, providing a possibility for transport from H2 stations to end users.

Energy has transformed every aspect of society, powering unprecedented population growth, economic well-being, new industries, and emerging technological possibilities. However, energy has been historically coupled with greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting energy demand while decoupling it from emissions is urgent yet challenging due to our widespread and long-standing reliance on fossil energy sources

Transitioning to a low-carbon economy leads to shifts in the labor market. Yet, an effective policy response to such shifts is currently limited by knowledge gaps on the occupations at risk, their skill profiles, and their regional and sectoral distributions. Here, based on a novel classification of occupational exposure covering 3,008 occupations and 13,500 skills, we map the labor market exposure

Tin (Sn) metal, with its intrinsic resistance to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), holds great promise as an anode for safe and rechargeable aqueous Sn-metal batteries (ASBs). However, the major challenges for their practical deployment include uneven Sn deposition and low Sn2+/Sn4+ reaction reversibility. To mitigate these challenges, we design ASBs from both anode and electrolyte. First, a stannophilic

Download: Download high-res image (136KB) Download: Download full-size imageIegor Riepin is a postdoctoral researcher specializing in energy systems at the Technische Universität Berlin. His work focuses on energy system modeling, energy economics and policy, and operations research. Iegor’s expertise and research interests encompass mathematical models, their applications to real-world problems, their

Hydrogen is essential for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, acting as both an energy carrier and source. It can store renewable energy, decarbonize difficult sectors, and serve as a zero-carbon feedstock. Conventional hydrogen production methods, such as natural gas reforming, inherently produce CO2. Electrolysis, though CO2 free during operation, can still contribute to emissions through the construction

Solid-state electrolytes are essential for enabling safe, high-performance all-solid-state batteries by providing a stable, non-flammable ionic pathway for lithium-ion transport while also improving overall battery safety and energy density. Recently in Joule, Ohta et al. combined nonconductive lithium chloride and iron oxychloride to form a [Li1+δCl]δ+/[FeOCl]δ− heterointerface composite with ionic

Wind power accounted for 8% of global electricity generation in 2023 and is one of the cheapest forms of low-carbon electricity. Although fully commercial, many challenges remain in achieving the required scale-up, relating to integrating wind farms into wider technical, economic, social, and natural systems. We review the main challenges, outline existing solutions, and propose future research needed

(Joule 9, 101795; February 19, 2025)

Structure engineering of two-dimensional perovskites by the bulky cations can impair the robustness of perovskite heterojunctions. In a recent issue of Energy & Environmental Science, Peng et al. unveil that the Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite leads to detrimental reactions at the interface, while Dion-Jacobson perovskites induced uneven iodide distribution within the bulk.

Spatial inhomogeneity and temporal evolution of electrochemical reactions significantly influence battery performance and are crucial for understanding battery mechanisms. In a recent publication in Device, Liu et al. demonstrate that diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers can be used as in situ quantum probes to monitor electrochemical reactions at the single-particle level, revealing heterogeneous

(Joule 8, 3088–3105; November 20, 2024)

Jörn C. Richstein worked as a senior researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research. His research covers climate policy design in the industrial sector, including carbon contracts for difference and emissions trading. His second focus area is electricity market design, including short- and long-term market design, renewables policy, and industrial demand response. He holds a joint PhD in

Battery storage systems (BSSs) are emerging as pivotal components for facilitating the global transition toward transportation electrification and grid-scale renewable energy integration. Nevertheless, a significant research gap persists due to the lack of large-scale, publicly available field data from real-world BSS deployments, thereby hindering the advancement of state-of-the-art health monitoring

Current studies have highlighted the crucial role of spin in electrocatalytic reactions. Spin regulation can effectively reduce the energy cost of spin flipping and accelerate reactions. A recent work in Journal of the American Chemical Society by Zhang et al.1 reported the spin regulation on chiral Ag nanostructured films, which significantly enhances C2+ product formation in electrochemical CO2 reduction

In a recent issue of Chem, Professor Han and coworkers advance the anthracene-based solar energy storage materials capable of self-activated heat release through a cascading cycloreversion process, mimicking fossil fuel combustion and presenting new possibilities for scalable, renewable heat storage applications. This preview highlights two significant breakthroughs in molecular solar thermal energy