Energy science and technology articles from across Nature Portfolio

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.

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.

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%.

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.

Elastocaloric cooling has emerged as an eco-friendly technology with low greenhouse gas emissions and high energy efficiency. Here the all-solid-state elastocaloric cooler shows a long operational life of over 2 million cycles.

Mina Naguib and colleagues propose an integrated physicsand machine-learning-based method for early thermal fault detection in battery packs. This approach enhances reliability and safety by identifying faults such as sensor failures and cooling system issues before they become critical.

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.

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.

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.