Volume 3 Issue 4, April 2018

Professor M Stanley Whittingham is a pioneering researcher in the development of lithium-ion batteries at Binghamton University and Kent Snyder leads battery research and development at Ford Motor Company. Nature Energy caught up with both during the Nature Conference on Materials Electrochemistry: Fundamentals and Applications held in China in January 2018.

Realization of rechargeable batteries with alkali metal anodes is challenged by their high reactivity and dendritic growth. Now, an alloy-based, artificial solid electrolyte interphase is shown to allow smooth metal deposition, enhance interfacial charge transfer, protect against parasitic reactions and offer extra energy storage.

New and emerging energy consumption patterns driven by the rise of prosumers may lead to under-recovery of network costs under current network charges, so new tariffs are being sought. A study using detailed household consumption data now illustrates the potentially disproportionate impact of different tariffs on household budgets.

Analysts and markets have struggled to predict a number of phenomena, such as the rise of natural gas, in US energy markets over the past decade or so. Research shows the challenge may grow because the industry — and consequently the market — is becoming increasingly volatile.

Thermoelectric devices convert heat flows into electricity. Researchers recently demonstrated that thermoelectric materials can be produced in good quality by 3D printing, enabling a low-cost production process in the near future.

Battery safety is a key focus in the design of electrified vehicles. Here, the authors survey literature approaches for modelling and testing battery safety under abuse conditions, and propose a multi-physics modelling and testing framework for real applications.

Electrification is seen as the future of automotive industry, and deployment of electric vehicles largely depends on the development of rechargeable batteries. Here, the authors survey the state-of-the-art advances in active materials, electrolytes and cell chemistries for automotive batteries.

Recent years have seen significant growth of electric vehicles and extensive development of energy storage technologies. This Review evaluates the potential of a series of promising batteries and hydrogen fuel cells in their deployment in automotive electrification.

The battery manufacturing process significantly affects battery performance. This Review provides an introductory overview of production technologies for automotive batteries and discusses the importance of understanding relationships between the production process and battery performance.

Three-dimensional printing is changing the way we manufacture objects. Here, Kim et al. develop inks of inorganic thermoelectric materials to 3D print the legs of conformable thermoelectric generators, allowing waste heat recovery from hot water pipes.

Solid-electrolyte interphases (SEI) play important roles in battery operations. Here, the authors report hybrid anodes by forming a Sn overlayer on alkali metal electrodes, leading to a robust SEI and consequently improved electrochemical performance.

Home energy generation and storage are expected to alter residential energy usage. Careful tariff design is thus needed to ensure fair distribution of grid operation costs. Using smart-meter data and socio-economic profiles, this study explores the potential impact of different tariffs on household expenditure.

As silicon solar cells are reaching their optimal efficiencies, below 30%, multi-junctions are being developed to increase the electrical power output over the same area. Here, Cariou et al. use wafer-bonding to fabricate two-terminal silicon III–V tandem cells that reach efficiencies above 33%.

Energy systems are transitioning from fossil fuel sources to renewable sources with lower net energy generation. Using the concept of energy return on investment, this study finds that net energy per capita is likely to greatly decrease without more efficiency savings or energy infrastructure.

Predictability of energy quantities such as natural gas price and oil production is important for planning and finance not just in energy markets but national economies. Here, researchers show that the energy industry was more volatile and harder to predict in the last decade than previous decades.