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Researchers Discover New Way To Make 'Atomic Lasagna'

Sept. 12, 2024

Advanced Hydropower Cybersecurity: Introducing the Cybersecurity Value-at-Risk Framework 2.0

Sept. 11, 2024

25 New Coastal, Remote, and Island Communities Join Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project

Sept. 10, 2024

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Barriers and Opportunities to Realize the System Value of Interregional Transmission
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The role of fusion energy in a decarbonized electricity system

The MIT Energy Initiative, in collaboration with the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, has released a new report that shows that fusion energy could be a major contributor in future electric power systems and identifies what is required to achieve that potential.

View report →

The selected projects will address grid and infrastructure resiliency, electric vehicle adoption, energy storage investment, and more

MIT researchers have found a way to make structural materials last longer under the harsh conditions inside a fusion reactor.

MIT students get first-hand view of climate-proofing the Netherlands

09/18/2024 5:15 pm-6:15 pm ET

09/25/2024 09/26/2024

10/17/2024 1:00 pm-2:00 pm ET

Collaborative research with industry in key technology areas to address the energy transition.

Analyses that shape and influence policy, technology development, and future research.

Learn about funding opportunities for MIT faculty.

MITEI-supported research advancing the science, technologies, and policies needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and expand energy access.

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Read our August issue

This month we look at gender norms in energy transition, performance improvement in organic solar cells, bipolar membranes for carbon dioxide electrolysis, and more.

Probing intermediate configurations of oxygen evolution catalysis across the light spectrum

Oxygen evolution is a critical reaction in the context of renewable fuel production via (photo)electrochemical approaches, yet our understanding of the molecular details of the reaction is limited. Here, the authors explore how specific spectroscopic probes and theory can be combined to reveal the elementary reaction steps.

Jin Suntivich
Geoffroy Hautier

Increasing women’s representation in the energy sector

POWERful Women is a professional initiative established in 2014 targeting a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive energy sector in the UK. To mark the tenth anniversary, Katie Jackson — Chair of POWERful Women — talks to Nature Energy about progress so far and the challenges ahead.

Giulia Tregnago

Separation and concentration of CO 2 from air using a humidity-driven molten-carbonate membrane

Capture of CO 2 from the air requires substantial amounts of energy. Here the authors report molten-carbonate membranes to concentrate CO 2 from 400 ppm input streams that exploit ambient energy in the form of humidity differences.

Ian S. Metcalfe
Greg A. Mutch
Patricia A. Hunt

Towards carbon-neutral and clean propulsion in heavy-duty transportation with hydroformylated Fischer–Tropsch fuels

For synthetic fuels to aid in a transition towards cleaner transportation, they must fulfil criteria related to scalability, compatibility with existing infrastructure and environmental impacts. Here the authors show that hydroformylated Fischer–Tropsch fuels comprising optimized alkane–alcohol blends are promising candidates when judged by these metrics.

Simon Voelker
Niklas Groll
André Bardow

Current issue

Confronting mobesity is vital for the global electrification of transport.

Christian Brand

The role of justice is set to shift accountability and responsibility in the energy sector

Raphael J. Heffron
Aoife Foley
Dylan D. Furszyfer Del Rio

Component redesign

Changjun (Alex) Zhang

Bipolar membranes for intrinsically stable and scalable CO 2 electrolysis

Kostadin V. Petrov
Christel I. Koopman
David A. Vermaas

Rapid temperature-responsive thermal regulator for safety management of battery modules

Xuning Feng

A conceptual analysis of gendered energy care work and epistemic injustice through a case study of Zanzibar’s Solar Mamas

Kavya Michael
Helene Ahlborg

Nature Energy is a Transformative Journal ; authors can publish using the traditional publishing route OR via immediate gold Open Access.

Our Open Access option complies with funder and institutional requirements .

Latest Research articles

Key intermediates and Cu active sites for CO 2 electroreduction to ethylene and ethanol

Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 can yield many different products; a better understanding of the key mechanisms at play is needed to guide the design of selective catalysts. Here the authors use in situ surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and simulations to elucidate reaction schemes for CO 2 reduction to ethylene and ethanol.

Federico Dattila
Beatriz Roldan Cuenya

Tailoring planar strain for robust structural stability in high-entropy layered sodium oxide cathode materials

High-entropy oxides offer potential for high-performance battery cathodes due to their broad compositional space. The authors present a design approach showing that 3 d -compatible elements in O3-type Na-ion batteries reduce lattice strain and ion migration, enhancing structural integrity.

Feixiang Ding
Pengxiang Ji
Yong-Sheng Hu

Integrated rocksalt–polyanion cathodes with excess lithium and stabilized cycling

Energy density and cyclability are often a trade-off for lithium-ion batteries. The authors develop cobalt- and nickel-free cathodes with both good cycling stability and high energy density through the integration of polyanion units into rocksalt structures.

Yimeng Huang
Yanhao Dong

Economic potential of wind and solar in American Indian communities

New research examines disparities in renewable energy development on American Indian reservations relative to adjacent lands. Results highlight barriers contributing to these disparities and the scope for poverty alleviation, if eliminated, is quantified.

Dominic P. Parker
Sarah Johnston
Justin B. Winikoff

Oscillatory solvation chemistry for a 500 Wh kg −1 Li-metal pouch cell

Cation solvation in batteries is well understood in bulk solutions but less so at electrode/electrolyte interfaces. This study reveals how external and intramolecular fields affect Li-ion solvation, proposing a dielectric protocol to enhance cation–anion coordination and improve performance in Li-metal pouch cells.

Shuoqing Zhang

Asymmetric electrolyte design for high-energy lithium-ion batteries with micro-sized alloying anodes

Micro-sized alloying anodes in Li-ion batteries cost less and offer higher capacity than graphite but suffer from cyclability issues. Chunsheng Wang and colleagues develop asymmetric electrolytes for micro-sized Si, Al, Sn and Bi anodes using solvent-free ionic liquids and molecular solvents to tackle the issue.

Chunsheng Wang

Latest Reviews & Analysis

Preserving order by controlled disorder

Nickel-rich lithium-ion cathode materials face severe structural and interfacial instabilities when cycled at high potentials and high degrees of delithiation. Now, a LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 material with a complementary composition and structure gradient, composed of an ordered, layered Co-poor bulk phase and a Co-enriched disordered rock-salt surface layer, is shown to efficiently address the issues.

Timo Boehler
Dominic Bresser

Top performance whatever the doping

The highest power conversion efficiencies for silicon heterojunction solar cells have been achieved on devices based on n-type doped silicon wafers, yet these wafers are usually more expensive than p-type ones. Now, researchers reduce charge recombination in the bulk of p-type silicon, demonstrating comparable efficiency to devices based on n-type silicon.

Bernd Stannowski

Community benefits can build bipartisan support for large-scale energy infrastructure

In the United States, Democrats and Republicans are more likely to support energy projects that are community-owned, create jobs, and generate solar energy, but local elected officials underestimate their constituents’ support for projects with these characteristics. Since these officials play a key role in approving new energy projects and negotiating the benefits they bring to communities, aligning local elected officials’ perceptions with the public’s could improve progress toward just energy transitions.

Holly Caggiano
Sara M. Constantino
Elke U. Weber

Electrodes with 100% active materials

Battery researchers are struggling to design viable all-solid batteries, which promise enhanced safety but are currently achievable only at a high cost and with complex cell designs. Now a study on a sulfide-based cathode material demonstrates that a radical redesign of the electrode using 100% active material may help address the issue.