Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01908-4
Andrej Kitanovski, Katja Klinar, Ercang Luo, Miguel Muñoz Rojo, Vladimir Soldo, Luka Boban, Kaiqi Luo, Rui Yang, Xavier Moya
Industrial-sector decarbonization requires the adoption of energy-efficient heating technologies such as heat pumps. Among these, vapour compression is the most efficient method. However, its refrigerants pose environmental and safety concerns and preclude heat-pump operation above 600 K. Many industrial processes operating above this temperature use fossil fuels or resistive electrical heating, which generate a substantial amount of unused waste heat. It is therefore essential to develop technologies that efficiently recover and pump heat at such high temperatures. In this Review, we highlight the opportunities and challenges for emerging and environmentally friendly high-temperature heat-pump technologies based on solids or gases. These technologies have the potential to deliver heat at temperatures up to 1,600 K. We provide an outlook on potential solutions, applications and scalability and a roadmap for future technological progress. The decarbonization of industrial sectors requires the development of environmentally friendly high-temperature heat-pump technologies. This Review evaluates the potential of various solid-state and gas-cycle approaches and the challenges involved and outlines a roadmap for future development.
{"title":"Emerging opportunities for high-temperature solid-state and gas-cycle heat pumps","authors":"Andrej Kitanovski, Katja Klinar, Ercang Luo, Miguel Muñoz Rojo, Vladimir Soldo, Luka Boban, Kaiqi Luo, Rui Yang, Xavier Moya","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01908-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01908-4","url":null,"abstract":"Industrial-sector decarbonization requires the adoption of energy-efficient heating technologies such as heat pumps. Among these, vapour compression is the most efficient method. However, its refrigerants pose environmental and safety concerns and preclude heat-pump operation above 600 K. Many industrial processes operating above this temperature use fossil fuels or resistive electrical heating, which generate a substantial amount of unused waste heat. It is therefore essential to develop technologies that efficiently recover and pump heat at such high temperatures. In this Review, we highlight the opportunities and challenges for emerging and environmentally friendly high-temperature heat-pump technologies based on solids or gases. These technologies have the potential to deliver heat at temperatures up to 1,600 K. We provide an outlook on potential solutions, applications and scalability and a roadmap for future technological progress. The decarbonization of industrial sectors requires the development of environmentally friendly high-temperature heat-pump technologies. This Review evaluates the potential of various solid-state and gas-cycle approaches and the challenges involved and outlines a roadmap for future development.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"10 12","pages":"1412-1426"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01911-9
Lin Yuan, Briley B. Bourgeois, Elijah Begin, Yirui Zhang, Alan X. Dai, Zhihua Cheng, Amy S. McKeown-Green, Zhichen Xue, Yi Cui, Kun Xu, Yu Wang, Matthew R. Jones, Yi Cui, Arun Majumdar, Junwei Lucas Bao, Jennifer A. Dionne
The Haber–Bosch process for ammonia synthesis contributes up to ~3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Plasmonic catalysts strongly concentrate light and can alter the reaction intermediates via out-of-equilibrium processes, providing the potential for an alternative, less-energy-intensive pathway to synthesize ammonia. Here we show that gold-ruthenium (AuRu) bimetallic nanoparticles can synthesize ammonia at room temperature and pressure using visible light. We create AuRu alloys with varying compositions and achieve ammonia production rates of ~60 μmol per gram of catalyst bed per hour. In situ infrared spectroscopy reveals that light accelerates the hydrogenation of nitrogen intermediates compared to conventional thermal catalysis. Through computational modelling, we demonstrate that photo-excited electrons enable associative hydrogenation pathways for nitrogen activation rather than direct nitrogen–nitrogen bond breaking. This light-assisted mechanism requires both hydrogen and light working together to overcome the nitrogen activation barrier, mimicking how biological enzymes produce ammonia naturally and providing fundamental insights for developing sustainable, energy-efficient chemical synthesis. Conventional ammonia synthesis is energy intensive. Here the authors explore the mechanism of light-driven ammonia synthesis through in situ spectroscopy and modelling, and demonstrate that certain AuRu plasmonic alloys are promising catalysts for this potentially more sustainable process.
{"title":"Atmospheric-pressure ammonia synthesis on AuRu catalysts enabled by plasmon-controlled hydrogenation and nitrogen-species desorption","authors":"Lin Yuan, Briley B. Bourgeois, Elijah Begin, Yirui Zhang, Alan X. Dai, Zhihua Cheng, Amy S. McKeown-Green, Zhichen Xue, Yi Cui, Kun Xu, Yu Wang, Matthew R. Jones, Yi Cui, Arun Majumdar, Junwei Lucas Bao, Jennifer A. Dionne","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01911-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01911-9","url":null,"abstract":"The Haber–Bosch process for ammonia synthesis contributes up to ~3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Plasmonic catalysts strongly concentrate light and can alter the reaction intermediates via out-of-equilibrium processes, providing the potential for an alternative, less-energy-intensive pathway to synthesize ammonia. Here we show that gold-ruthenium (AuRu) bimetallic nanoparticles can synthesize ammonia at room temperature and pressure using visible light. We create AuRu alloys with varying compositions and achieve ammonia production rates of ~60 μmol per gram of catalyst bed per hour. In situ infrared spectroscopy reveals that light accelerates the hydrogenation of nitrogen intermediates compared to conventional thermal catalysis. Through computational modelling, we demonstrate that photo-excited electrons enable associative hydrogenation pathways for nitrogen activation rather than direct nitrogen–nitrogen bond breaking. This light-assisted mechanism requires both hydrogen and light working together to overcome the nitrogen activation barrier, mimicking how biological enzymes produce ammonia naturally and providing fundamental insights for developing sustainable, energy-efficient chemical synthesis. Conventional ammonia synthesis is energy intensive. Here the authors explore the mechanism of light-driven ammonia synthesis through in situ spectroscopy and modelling, and demonstrate that certain AuRu plasmonic alloys are promising catalysts for this potentially more sustainable process.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 1","pages":"98-108"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145680729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01921-7
Juan Ramon L. Senga, Audun Botterud, John E. Parsons, S. Drew Story, Christopher R. Knittel
{"title":"Implications of policy-driven transmission expansion for costs, emissions and reliability in the USA","authors":"Juan Ramon L. Senga, Audun Botterud, John E. Parsons, S. Drew Story, Christopher R. Knittel","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01921-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01921-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145664441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01913-7
Sang-Young Lee
Lithium-metal batteries offer high energy density but are prone to thermal runaway due to reactive lithium and flammable electrolytes. Research now reports a thermoresponsive electrolyte that rapidly solidifies near the separator’s melting point, forming a protective scaffold that prevents short circuits while allowing normal operation.
{"title":"Solidifying safety on cue","authors":"Sang-Young Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01913-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01913-7","url":null,"abstract":"Lithium-metal batteries offer high energy density but are prone to thermal runaway due to reactive lithium and flammable electrolytes. Research now reports a thermoresponsive electrolyte that rapidly solidifies near the separator’s melting point, forming a protective scaffold that prevents short circuits while allowing normal operation.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"10 12","pages":"1398-1399"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01905-7
Chao Yang, Wenxi Hu, Mengting Zheng, Xing Zhou, Xiaowei Liu, Jingting Yang, Dawei Xu, Meilong Wang, Youcai Zhang, Wen Chen, Jun Lu, Ya You
Short circuits in lithium metal batteries caused by separator failure at elevated temperatures present a critical thermal safety challenge. Smart, temperature-responsive materials offer a promising way to prevent short circuits, yet practical systems with sufficiently fast response times have not been realized. Here we propose a thermo-responsive electrolyte that undergoes a rapid liquid-to-solid phase transition upon heating, offering a highly effective strategy to enhance lithium metal battery safety. The electrolyte leverages LiPF6 to initiate cationic polymerization, enabling solidification within seconds at a temperature threshold near the separator’s melting point. This fast phase change forms an effective heat shield that prevents internal short circuits and thermal runaway. Demonstrated in LiFePO4||Li pouch cells, the electrolyte ensures stable operation up to 90 °C and completely suppresses thermal runaway. Notably, the transition temperature can be tuned between 100 °C and 150 °C, allowing compatibility with various commercial separators. This ultrafast thermo-responsive electrolyte offers a pathway towards the design of intrinsically safe lithium metal batteries. Short circuits from separator failure threaten lithium metal battery safety, but ultrafast temperature-responsive materials are lacking. Here a thermo-responsive electrolyte solidifies in seconds, preventing thermal runaway and enabling stable operation up to 90 °C.
{"title":"Ultrafast thermo-responsive electrolyte for enhanced safety in lithium metal batteries","authors":"Chao Yang, Wenxi Hu, Mengting Zheng, Xing Zhou, Xiaowei Liu, Jingting Yang, Dawei Xu, Meilong Wang, Youcai Zhang, Wen Chen, Jun Lu, Ya You","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01905-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01905-7","url":null,"abstract":"Short circuits in lithium metal batteries caused by separator failure at elevated temperatures present a critical thermal safety challenge. Smart, temperature-responsive materials offer a promising way to prevent short circuits, yet practical systems with sufficiently fast response times have not been realized. Here we propose a thermo-responsive electrolyte that undergoes a rapid liquid-to-solid phase transition upon heating, offering a highly effective strategy to enhance lithium metal battery safety. The electrolyte leverages LiPF6 to initiate cationic polymerization, enabling solidification within seconds at a temperature threshold near the separator’s melting point. This fast phase change forms an effective heat shield that prevents internal short circuits and thermal runaway. Demonstrated in LiFePO4||Li pouch cells, the electrolyte ensures stable operation up to 90 °C and completely suppresses thermal runaway. Notably, the transition temperature can be tuned between 100 °C and 150 °C, allowing compatibility with various commercial separators. This ultrafast thermo-responsive electrolyte offers a pathway towards the design of intrinsically safe lithium metal batteries. Short circuits from separator failure threaten lithium metal battery safety, but ultrafast temperature-responsive materials are lacking. Here a thermo-responsive electrolyte solidifies in seconds, preventing thermal runaway and enabling stable operation up to 90 °C.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"10 12","pages":"1493-1502"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01925-3
Jack Peden, James Ryley, Jeronimo Terrones, Fiona Smail, James A. Elliott, Alan Windle, Adam Boies
Converting natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon materials using methane pyrolysis presents a promising opportunity to produce sustainable fuels and materials. The production of hydrogen and bulk carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via methane pyrolysis has been demonstrated independently, but concurrent production from the same reactor has remained elusive. Here we present a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (FCCVD) reactor that converts methane into hydrogen and CNT aerogel. Whereas previous FCCVD CNT production consumed hydrogen, the multi-pass reactor recycles the carrier gas to eliminate the need for a hydrogen input. This results in a net output of 85 vol% hydrogen alongside CNT aerogel and a 446-fold increase in molar process efficiency. Furthermore, the demonstrated use of biogas to produce CNT aerogel enables a potential net sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere. The results of this study have been extrapolated to a pilot-scale reactor, using data gathered at a commercial facility, to consider the challenges and opportunities associated with scale-up. Methane pyrolysis produces hydrogen and carbon materials, but some approaches based on chemical vapour deposition actually consume hydrogen to mitigate unwanted side reactions. Here Peden et al. use gas recycling in a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition reactor to produce hydrogen alongside carbon nanotube aerogels.
{"title":"Production of hydrogen and carbon nanotubes from methane using a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition reactor with process gas recycling","authors":"Jack Peden, James Ryley, Jeronimo Terrones, Fiona Smail, James A. Elliott, Alan Windle, Adam Boies","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01925-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01925-3","url":null,"abstract":"Converting natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon materials using methane pyrolysis presents a promising opportunity to produce sustainable fuels and materials. The production of hydrogen and bulk carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via methane pyrolysis has been demonstrated independently, but concurrent production from the same reactor has remained elusive. Here we present a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition (FCCVD) reactor that converts methane into hydrogen and CNT aerogel. Whereas previous FCCVD CNT production consumed hydrogen, the multi-pass reactor recycles the carrier gas to eliminate the need for a hydrogen input. This results in a net output of 85 vol% hydrogen alongside CNT aerogel and a 446-fold increase in molar process efficiency. Furthermore, the demonstrated use of biogas to produce CNT aerogel enables a potential net sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere. The results of this study have been extrapolated to a pilot-scale reactor, using data gathered at a commercial facility, to consider the challenges and opportunities associated with scale-up. Methane pyrolysis produces hydrogen and carbon materials, but some approaches based on chemical vapour deposition actually consume hydrogen to mitigate unwanted side reactions. Here Peden et al. use gas recycling in a multi-pass floating catalyst chemical vapour deposition reactor to produce hydrogen alongside carbon nanotube aerogels.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 1","pages":"121-134"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.comhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-025-01925-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01906-6
Wenzhan Xu, Wenhao Shao, Yuanhao Tang, Chenjian Lin, Hanjun Yang, Yu-Ting Yang, Jeong Hui Kim, Gangsan Lee, Prashant Kumar, Kevin R. Pedersen, Aidan H. Coffey, Steven P. Harvey, Kenneth R. Graham, Chenhui Zhu, Kai Zhu, Letian Dou
{"title":"Ionic liquids improve the long-term stability of perovskite solar cells","authors":"Wenzhan Xu, Wenhao Shao, Yuanhao Tang, Chenjian Lin, Hanjun Yang, Yu-Ting Yang, Jeong Hui Kim, Gangsan Lee, Prashant Kumar, Kevin R. Pedersen, Aidan H. Coffey, Steven P. Harvey, Kenneth R. Graham, Chenhui Zhu, Kai Zhu, Letian Dou","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01906-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01906-6","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":56.7,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145645240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-27DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01910-w
Junghwa Lee, Zhelong Jiang, Nicolas B. Liang, Jin Hwan Kwak, Howie Nguyen, Grace M. Busse, Yiseul Yoo, Hari Ramachandran, Kipil Lim, Peter M. Csernica, Tianyi Li, Xin Xu, Kyung Yoon Chung, Kathrin Michel, Joop E. Frerichs, William E. Gent, Raphaële J. Clément, Jungjin Park, William C. Chueh
Layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries typically undergo large expansion and contraction during cycling, including a particularly abrupt shrinkage along the c lattice (c-collapse) at high states of charge, which limits their lifetime. Here we suppress the c-collapse in compositionally simple LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 by electrochemically inducing partial disorder that is permanently retained throughout the bulk. Our approach leverages irreversible oxygen oxidation in Li-excess Ni-rich oxides to activate partial disordering of the cation sublattice, while preserving the long-range layered structure. By varying the initial Li-excess, we obtain Li-stoichiometric transition-metal oxides with tunable cation disorder. Surprisingly, when the concentration of transition-metal ions occupying Li sites (TMLi) reaches ≥12%, the c-lattice parameter remains nearly invariant during (de)lithiation, reducing chemical strain, preserving microstructural integrity and extending battery cycle life. The resulting material displays high specific capacity, long-term stability, small voltage hysteresis and negligible voltage decay. This concept opens the possibility of designing materials by inducing persistent intrinsic disorder electrochemically. Lithium-ion battery cathode lifetime is limited by large expansion and contraction during cycling. This study uses electrochemical activation to suppress collapse in LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 cathodes, achieving improved capacity and cycle life.
{"title":"Eliminating lattice collapse in dopant-free LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 cathodes via electrochemically induced partial cation disorder","authors":"Junghwa Lee, Zhelong Jiang, Nicolas B. Liang, Jin Hwan Kwak, Howie Nguyen, Grace M. Busse, Yiseul Yoo, Hari Ramachandran, Kipil Lim, Peter M. Csernica, Tianyi Li, Xin Xu, Kyung Yoon Chung, Kathrin Michel, Joop E. Frerichs, William E. Gent, Raphaële J. Clément, Jungjin Park, William C. Chueh","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01910-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01910-w","url":null,"abstract":"Layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries typically undergo large expansion and contraction during cycling, including a particularly abrupt shrinkage along the c lattice (c-collapse) at high states of charge, which limits their lifetime. Here we suppress the c-collapse in compositionally simple LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 by electrochemically inducing partial disorder that is permanently retained throughout the bulk. Our approach leverages irreversible oxygen oxidation in Li-excess Ni-rich oxides to activate partial disordering of the cation sublattice, while preserving the long-range layered structure. By varying the initial Li-excess, we obtain Li-stoichiometric transition-metal oxides with tunable cation disorder. Surprisingly, when the concentration of transition-metal ions occupying Li sites (TMLi) reaches ≥12%, the c-lattice parameter remains nearly invariant during (de)lithiation, reducing chemical strain, preserving microstructural integrity and extending battery cycle life. The resulting material displays high specific capacity, long-term stability, small voltage hysteresis and negligible voltage decay. This concept opens the possibility of designing materials by inducing persistent intrinsic disorder electrochemically. Lithium-ion battery cathode lifetime is limited by large expansion and contraction during cycling. This study uses electrochemical activation to suppress collapse in LiNi0.9Mn0.1O2 cathodes, achieving improved capacity and cycle life.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"11 1","pages":"87-97"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145609577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1038/s41560-025-01867-w
Jessika E. Trancik, Erin Baker, Gregory Nemet, Magdalena M. Klemun, Rebecca J. Hanes, Kavita Surana, Doug Arent, Samuel F. Baldwin, Steven A. Gabriel, Steven W. Popper, Valentina Bosetti, Max Henrion, Giacomo Marangoni, Rupert Way
Governments and companies face consequential decisions about allocating resources to the research, development, demonstration and deployment of energy technologies to meet environmental, economic and social goals. Here we discuss how research insights can inform and potentially improve these decisions to make effective use of limited resources and time in shaping the next-generation energy infrastructure. We outline three key research steps: forecasting technological change, relating investments to economic, social and environmental outcomes and informing decision-making processes. We recommend advances to address uncertainty as well as to make methods and results more practicable, emphasizing the importance of model validation, streamlining and interactivity. Progress has been made, yet further work is needed—for example, in the development of reduced-order, testable models and more comprehensive data collection. Overall, this research is beginning to inform decisions but could be adopted more widely by governments and the private sector to help support technological progress for energy affordability, equitable climate change mitigation, health benefits and other objectives. Deciding how and when to allocate resources to energy technologies can have important consequences. This Perspective outlines three key steps for research to both inform and improve decision-making for next-generation energy technologies and infrastructure.
{"title":"Informed investments in clean energy technologies","authors":"Jessika E. Trancik, Erin Baker, Gregory Nemet, Magdalena M. Klemun, Rebecca J. Hanes, Kavita Surana, Doug Arent, Samuel F. Baldwin, Steven A. Gabriel, Steven W. Popper, Valentina Bosetti, Max Henrion, Giacomo Marangoni, Rupert Way","doi":"10.1038/s41560-025-01867-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41560-025-01867-w","url":null,"abstract":"Governments and companies face consequential decisions about allocating resources to the research, development, demonstration and deployment of energy technologies to meet environmental, economic and social goals. Here we discuss how research insights can inform and potentially improve these decisions to make effective use of limited resources and time in shaping the next-generation energy infrastructure. We outline three key research steps: forecasting technological change, relating investments to economic, social and environmental outcomes and informing decision-making processes. We recommend advances to address uncertainty as well as to make methods and results more practicable, emphasizing the importance of model validation, streamlining and interactivity. Progress has been made, yet further work is needed—for example, in the development of reduced-order, testable models and more comprehensive data collection. Overall, this research is beginning to inform decisions but could be adopted more widely by governments and the private sector to help support technological progress for energy affordability, equitable climate change mitigation, health benefits and other objectives. Deciding how and when to allocate resources to energy technologies can have important consequences. This Perspective outlines three key steps for research to both inform and improve decision-making for next-generation energy technologies and infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":19073,"journal":{"name":"Nature Energy","volume":"10 12","pages":"1404-1411"},"PeriodicalIF":60.1,"publicationDate":"2025-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145583124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：