Nature Energy November 2020
Volume 5 Issue 11, November 2020
Spend time outdoors
Outdoor testing is key to the electrical characterization of solar cells as their performance in the field could differ to that under laboratory conditions. After extensive tests in a hot and sunny climate, Aydin et al. show that the bandgap of the perovskite absorber that maximizes the efficiency of perovskite/silicon tandems in the field is lower than that determined in the lab.
See Aydin et al.
Image: Erkan Aydin, KAUST. Cover Design: Thomas Phillips.
Editorial
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Editorial | 12 November 2020
Cutting cobalt
Renewable energy technologies do not always employ sustainable resources. The scarcity of cobalt supply must be addressed in transportation electrification.
News & Views
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News & Views | 02 November 2020
Three thumbs up for social norms
Social norm interventions are widely used to foster residential resource conservation. Now researchers have shown that the effectiveness of providing information about others’ energy use alongside messages of social approval for energy savings behaviour depends on the strength and consistency of these messages.
- Jon M. Jachimowicz
News & Views | 21 October 2020
Tandem cells under the weather
The design of research solar cells is typically optimized for laboratory conditions but in the real world they are exposed to changing temperatures influencing their performance. Now, research from outdoor tests reveals how temperature alters the current of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells and how this changes the optimal bandgaps.
- Jan Christoph Goldschmidt
News & Views | 02 November 2020
Cool water splitting by microwaves
Microwave heating has become a useful tool in catalysis to obtain chemical products under unconventional reaction conditions. Now, researchers have demonstrated low-temperature water splitting to produce hydrogen using microwave catalysis and revealed the important role of reduced oxides in the process.
- Daniel R. Slocombe
Policy Brief
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Policy Brief | 02 November 2020
Combining information on others’ energy usage and their approval of energy conservation promotes energy saving behaviour
Households reduced their electricity use the most when they learnt both that they were using more energy than their neighbours and that energy conservation was socially approved. This suggests that efforts to use social information to nudge conservation should combine different types of social feedback to maximize impact.
- Jacopo Bonan
- Cristina Cattaneo
- & Massimo Tavoni
Reviews
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Review Article | 12 August 2020
Challenges and prospects for negawatt trading in light of recent technological developments
Negawatt trading or trade in wattage of energy saved from consumption has been a much debated idea that has evaded wide-scale practical application. Tushar et al. look at the challenges to wide-scale negawatt trading and explain how recent technological developments can help address those challenges.
- Wayes Tushar
- Tapan K. Saha
- & Subarna Basnet
Research
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Article | 31 August 2020
The short-term costs of local content requirements in the Indian solar auctions
Local content requirements are designed to promote development of local industry; however, their economic and technological benefits are not well understood. Using data from Indian solar photovoltaic auctions, Probst et al. show the economic costs and technical benefits of local content requirements in energy auctions.
- Benedict Probst
- Vasilios Anatolitis
- & Laura Díaz Anadón
Article | 14 September 2020
Interplay between temperature and bandgap energies on the outdoor performance of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells
Outdoor field testing is crucial to understand how solar cells behave under operational conditions. Here, Aydin et al. show that a lower perovskite bandgap than that calculated at laboratory standard test conditions enhances the performance of perovskite/silicon tandem cells in the field.
- Erkan Aydin
- Thomas G. Allen
- & Stefaan De Wolf
Article | 21 September 2020
Heuristic solution for achieving long-term cycle stability for Ni-rich layered cathodes at full depth of discharge
Nickel-rich layered oxide cathodes are at the forefront of the development of automobile batteries. The authors report an atomic and microstructural engineering design for a Li[Ni0.90Co0.09Ta0.01]O2 cathode that exhibits outstanding long-term cyclability and high energy at full depth of discharge in full cells.
- Un-Hyuck Kim
- Geon-Tae Park
- & Yang-Kook Sun
Article | 05 October 2020
All-perovskite tandem solar cells with 24.2% certified efficiency and area over 1 cm2 using surface-anchoring zwitterionic antioxidant
Ensuring both stability and efficiency in mixed lead–tin perovskite solar cells is crucial to the development of all-perovskite tandems. Xiao et al. use an antioxidant zwitterionic molecule to suppress tin oxidation thus enabling large-area tandem cells with 24.2% efficiency and operational stability over 500 hours.
- Ke Xiao
- Renxing Lin
- & Hairen Tan
Article | 26 October 2020
Structural transformation of highly active metal–organic framework electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction
Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are increasingly being explored for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution, which is half of the water splitting reaction. Here the authors show that, under reaction conditions, mixed metal oxyhydroxides form at the nodes of bimetallic MOFs, which are highly catalytically active.
- Shenlong Zhao
- Chunhui Tan
- & Zhiyong Tang
Article | 19 October 2020
The role of adsorbed hydroxide in hydrogen evolution reaction kinetics on modified platinum
The appropriate descriptors for a catalyst’s hydrogen evolution activity in alkaline electrolyte are debated. Combining simulations and single-crystal studies of metal-decorated Pt surfaces, McCrum and Koper show that activity exhibits a volcano-type relationship with the hydroxide binding strength of the catalyst, providing a target for catalyst design.
- Ian T. McCrum
- & Marc T. M. Koper
Article | 02 November 2020
The interaction of descriptive and injunctive social norms in promoting energy conservation
Home energy reports convey information about others’ energy use (descriptive norms) and social approval for energy saving behaviour (injunctive norms). This study shows that the combined effect of descriptive and injunctive feedback depends on their consistency and relative strength.
- Jacopo Bonan
- Cristina Cattaneo
- & Massimo Tavoni
Article | 02 November 2020
Hydrogen production via microwave-induced water splitting at low temperature
Hydrogen is a promising vector in the decarbonization of energy systems, but more efficient and scalable synthesis is required to enable its widespread deployment. Towards that aim, Serra et al. present a microwave-based approach that allows contactless water electrolysis that can be integrated with hydrocarbon production.
- J. M. Serra
- J. F. Borrás-Morell
- & J. M. Catalá-Civera
Analysis | 31 August 2020
A global analysis of the progress and failure of electric utilities to adapt their portfolios of power-generation assets to the energy transition
To meet climate goals, electric utilities should be decarbonizing their power production, but historical analyses of this process are scarce. Using machine learning and data from more than 3,000 utilities globally, Galina Alova shows that even utilities that prioritize renewable energy continue to grow their fossil fuelled generation capacity.
- Galina Alova
Analysis | 05 October 2020
Differences in carbon emissions reduction between countries pursuing renewable electricity versus nuclear power
Nuclear and renewable energy are considered two of the most important technologies towards decarbonization though it is not clear how their adoption relates to national emission reductions. Sovacool et al. look at data from 123 countries to examine emission reductions associated with nuclear- or renewable energy-focused strategies.
- Benjamin K. Sovacool
- Patrick Schmid
- & Gordon MacKerron
Amendments & Corrections
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Author Correction | 25 September 2020
Author Correction: Federal energy R&D: Startups supported by ARPA-E were more innovative than others but an investment gap may remain
- Anna Goldstein
- Claudia Doblinger
- & Laura Díaz Anadón
Author Correction | 25 September 2020
Author Correction: Patenting and business outcomes for cleantech startups funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
- Anna Goldstein
- Claudia Doblinger
- & Laura Díaz Anadón
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