The recent publication of the Sixth Assessment Report on Climate Change (AR6) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC, 2021) reveals an increasingly difficult challenge: the nature and rate of change in the world's climate due to human activity is occurring at a pace faster than the best science and research is organized to report. Successive IPCC reports, for example, document changes that often are out of date by the time it takes the Panel to organize an assessment. serious problems with policy designs that rely on known current costs and which will almost certainly be wrong tomorrow. And, even more concerning, policy designs built on the knowns of social and economic valuation imply that climate change is an incremental process. From the available evidence, this assumption is clearly no longer valid. Policy designs need to immediately move away from approaches meant to balance incremental social and economic costs and benefits and face the reality of “ compounding extremes ” (a concept introduced in the latest IPCC report).
{"title":"Rapid climate transformation requires transformative policy and science thinking—An editorial essay","authors":"J. Byrne, P. Lund, Job Taminiau","doi":"10.1002/wene.428","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.428","url":null,"abstract":"The recent publication of the Sixth Assessment Report on Climate Change (AR6) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (IPCC, 2021) reveals an increasingly difficult challenge: the nature and rate of change in the world's climate due to human activity is occurring at a pace faster than the best science and research is organized to report. Successive IPCC reports, for example, document changes that often are out of date by the time it takes the Panel to organize an assessment. serious problems with policy designs that rely on known current costs and which will almost certainly be wrong tomorrow. And, even more concerning, policy designs built on the knowns of social and economic valuation imply that climate change is an incremental process. From the available evidence, this assumption is clearly no longer valid. Policy designs need to immediately move away from approaches meant to balance incremental social and economic costs and benefits and face the reality of “ compounding extremes ” (a concept introduced in the latest IPCC report).","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2022-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47805414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sulabh Sachan, S. Deb, P. Singh, M. S. Alam, S. Shariff
The present work presents a comprehensive state‐of‐the‐art bibliographical review of standards related to utility grid integration and best practices of the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The presence of a robust tuning method is essential for successful utility grid integration with the charging stations. The lack of system standardization may hamper the EV uptake as well as successful utility grid integration with the charging stations. The distributed energy resources (DER) and vehicle to grid (V2G) are going to play a vital role in the power system operation and control. The applicability of criterions within the utility grid integration with charging station area is important to the grid operators, charging service providers, manufacturers, fleet operators, and so forth to ensure safety, dependability, and interoperability. Hence, this work tries to deliver a comprehensive and systematic review of standards and best practices for utility grid interaction with charging stations. It will help the specialists of power as well as transport sectors to track down every one of the norms and best practices, which are accessible at one stage to compare different guidelines.
{"title":"A comprehensive review of standards and best practices for utility grid integration with electric vehicle charging stations","authors":"Sulabh Sachan, S. Deb, P. Singh, M. S. Alam, S. Shariff","doi":"10.1002/wene.424","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.424","url":null,"abstract":"The present work presents a comprehensive state‐of‐the‐art bibliographical review of standards related to utility grid integration and best practices of the electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The presence of a robust tuning method is essential for successful utility grid integration with the charging stations. The lack of system standardization may hamper the EV uptake as well as successful utility grid integration with the charging stations. The distributed energy resources (DER) and vehicle to grid (V2G) are going to play a vital role in the power system operation and control. The applicability of criterions within the utility grid integration with charging station area is important to the grid operators, charging service providers, manufacturers, fleet operators, and so forth to ensure safety, dependability, and interoperability. Hence, this work tries to deliver a comprehensive and systematic review of standards and best practices for utility grid interaction with charging stations. It will help the specialists of power as well as transport sectors to track down every one of the norms and best practices, which are accessible at one stage to compare different guidelines.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44358151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The weather is one of the factors that may have an impact on the countries' economies. There are two main hedging ways against unexpected weather conditions: weather derivatives and weather insurances. During the last two decades, companies started to use weather derivatives against weather issues, especially in the energy and agriculture sectors. Starting from weather derivatives' first launch, their transaction volumes at the exchange and over‐the‐counter markets have increased. In addition to the increasing dependency of the economies on the weather, providing the weather derivative contracts with a reasonable premium amount is another reason which helps to have this positive trend. Since weather derivatives have similar parameters and rules with classical financial derivatives, it is possible to use the same pricing approaches for financial and weather derivatives. Monte–Carlo simulation, based on random number generation, is one of the existing methods of pricing derivative contracts. A difference between simulated values and really occurred data is the base point of the expected payoff or price of the contract. The current article introduces weather derivatives and shows two different approaches to their pricing, where one of them requires deeper statistical analysis. Adding the statistical analysis into the consideration, defining the relation between each data value, helps to provide better estimation and less volatility. Having less volatility can provide more accurate estimations and reasonable prices that are affordable and desired by the companies.
{"title":"Introduction to weather derivatives","authors":"Július Bemš, Caner Aydin","doi":"10.1002/wene.426","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.426","url":null,"abstract":"The weather is one of the factors that may have an impact on the countries' economies. There are two main hedging ways against unexpected weather conditions: weather derivatives and weather insurances. During the last two decades, companies started to use weather derivatives against weather issues, especially in the energy and agriculture sectors. Starting from weather derivatives' first launch, their transaction volumes at the exchange and over‐the‐counter markets have increased. In addition to the increasing dependency of the economies on the weather, providing the weather derivative contracts with a reasonable premium amount is another reason which helps to have this positive trend. Since weather derivatives have similar parameters and rules with classical financial derivatives, it is possible to use the same pricing approaches for financial and weather derivatives. Monte–Carlo simulation, based on random number generation, is one of the existing methods of pricing derivative contracts. A difference between simulated values and really occurred data is the base point of the expected payoff or price of the contract. The current article introduces weather derivatives and shows two different approaches to their pricing, where one of them requires deeper statistical analysis. Adding the statistical analysis into the consideration, defining the relation between each data value, helps to provide better estimation and less volatility. Having less volatility can provide more accurate estimations and reasonable prices that are affordable and desired by the companies.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42020925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Evaporative cooling has a major role to play in fighting climate change and in achieving a low‐carbon economy. As it helps to reduce energy demand for air conditioning, it is gaining attention in terms of improving energy efficiency in buildings. Evaporative cooling from wetted media can enhance water–air contact, thereby improving heat and mass transfer further and avoiding aerosols. Wetted media are commonly called evaporative cooling pads and are widely used in greenhouses, intensive livestock farming, and industrial facilities. However, a deep understanding of evaporative cooling pad performance can enhance their application to indoor occupied spaces such as residential or commercial cooling, or in hybrid air conditioning systems. Most studies analyze pad performance mainly in terms of pressure drop and saturation effectiveness. However, some studies propose alternative cooling efficiency parameters and others provide insights into key aspects such as power requirements and the coefficient of performance, water consumption, risk of water entrainment, material decay, and air quality, as well as the effect of water temperature and salinity, solar radiation, or wind speed. Existing results on these less studied performance issues are reviewed, and we identify the gaps in the literature in addition to highlighting the main challenges encountered, in an effort to guide future researchers in the field and enhance the application of direct evaporative cooling.
{"title":"Direct evaporative cooling from wetted surfaces: Challenges for a clean air conditioning solution","authors":"A. Tejero‐González, A. Franco-Salas","doi":"10.1002/wene.423","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.423","url":null,"abstract":"Evaporative cooling has a major role to play in fighting climate change and in achieving a low‐carbon economy. As it helps to reduce energy demand for air conditioning, it is gaining attention in terms of improving energy efficiency in buildings. Evaporative cooling from wetted media can enhance water–air contact, thereby improving heat and mass transfer further and avoiding aerosols. Wetted media are commonly called evaporative cooling pads and are widely used in greenhouses, intensive livestock farming, and industrial facilities. However, a deep understanding of evaporative cooling pad performance can enhance their application to indoor occupied spaces such as residential or commercial cooling, or in hybrid air conditioning systems. Most studies analyze pad performance mainly in terms of pressure drop and saturation effectiveness. However, some studies propose alternative cooling efficiency parameters and others provide insights into key aspects such as power requirements and the coefficient of performance, water consumption, risk of water entrainment, material decay, and air quality, as well as the effect of water temperature and salinity, solar radiation, or wind speed. Existing results on these less studied performance issues are reviewed, and we identify the gaps in the literature in addition to highlighting the main challenges encountered, in an effort to guide future researchers in the field and enhance the application of direct evaporative cooling.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42080778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
While technology continues to be seen as a key element in the move to sustainable development, international efforts around technology to support sustainable development transitions in developing countries have failed to yield results congruent with the needs. This review paper aims to contribute to, and help change, the conversation on international technology transfer (ITT) such that it leads to more productive international cooperative efforts for sustainable development in developing nations. We examine ITT in the health, agriculture, and climate and energy areas, juxtaposing it with relevant literature. Supporting domestic and international actors and processes, we highlight what are key elements for success in these areas of action to more effectively implement the SDGs in energy and environment in developing countries. Finally, we suggest that “innovation cooperation” is a better framing than “technology transfer” for advancing international efforts on technology for sustainable development. Such a framing allows for a broader and more comprehensive perspective on technology‐related cooperation between countries. It also emphasizes the need for equitable partnerships rather than donor–recipient relationships and for development of local innovation capabilities, leading to more effective marshaling of technologies to help developing countries achieve sustainable development.
{"title":"Beyond technology transfer: Innovation cooperation to advance sustainable development in developing countries","authors":"Nimisha Pandey, Heleen de Coninck, A. Sagar","doi":"10.1002/wene.422","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.422","url":null,"abstract":"While technology continues to be seen as a key element in the move to sustainable development, international efforts around technology to support sustainable development transitions in developing countries have failed to yield results congruent with the needs. This review paper aims to contribute to, and help change, the conversation on international technology transfer (ITT) such that it leads to more productive international cooperative efforts for sustainable development in developing nations. We examine ITT in the health, agriculture, and climate and energy areas, juxtaposing it with relevant literature. Supporting domestic and international actors and processes, we highlight what are key elements for success in these areas of action to more effectively implement the SDGs in energy and environment in developing countries. Finally, we suggest that “innovation cooperation” is a better framing than “technology transfer” for advancing international efforts on technology for sustainable development. Such a framing allows for a broader and more comprehensive perspective on technology‐related cooperation between countries. It also emphasizes the need for equitable partnerships rather than donor–recipient relationships and for development of local innovation capabilities, leading to more effective marshaling of technologies to help developing countries achieve sustainable development.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41589029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Renewable energies are increasingly playing an important role in the energy mix in Southeast Asia, but many challenges remain before they can compete with fossil fuels. The article examines the current development in the renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The article also analyses feed‐in tariff policy to further support the development of the renewable energy sector in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. More investments in renewable energy could be attracted given the same level of feed‐in tariff rates, contract length, and capacity cap by improving feed‐in tariff policy predictability. Southeast Asian countries could consider modification of their feed‐in tariffs suggested by the literature, such as for renewable energy generation accompanied with energy storage, tariff degression, caped capacity per region or grid, capacity‐augmentation‐tariff that are differentiated across different types and locations of intermittent power. Few of these features of feed‐in tariff policy are already implemented in some Southeast Asian countries.
{"title":"Feed‐in tariffs for financing renewable energy in Southeast Asia","authors":"Dina Azhgaliyeva, Ranjeeta Mishra","doi":"10.1002/wene.425","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.425","url":null,"abstract":"Renewable energies are increasingly playing an important role in the energy mix in Southeast Asia, but many challenges remain before they can compete with fossil fuels. The article examines the current development in the renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The article also analyses feed‐in tariff policy to further support the development of the renewable energy sector in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. More investments in renewable energy could be attracted given the same level of feed‐in tariff rates, contract length, and capacity cap by improving feed‐in tariff policy predictability. Southeast Asian countries could consider modification of their feed‐in tariffs suggested by the literature, such as for renewable energy generation accompanied with energy storage, tariff degression, caped capacity per region or grid, capacity‐augmentation‐tariff that are differentiated across different types and locations of intermittent power. Few of these features of feed‐in tariff policy are already implemented in some Southeast Asian countries.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47782061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper aims to review the state of the art in the field of pyrolysis and gasification of waste and to identify approaches that can be prospective considering the upcoming transformation of society. The results show that the transition to a circular, low carbon economy will significantly change the composition of municipal wastes, making thermochemical approaches more and more competitive. However, it does not mean that pyrolysis and gasification will outperform incineration in the field of traditional waste to energy. Novel thermochemical waste management approaches must not be viewed as competitors, but rather as the successors of the traditional mass‐burn incineration. The transition to a circular, low carbon economy will result in an emergence of new needs, new products and thus in possibilities of new pyrolysis and gasification‐based business models different from the waste to energy concept. Negative emissions, energy storage, stabilization of renewable grids as well as renewable fuels must be mentioned as examples of such new products. Thus, thermochemical processing technologies should be embedded into the wider concept of circular, low carbon economy as the source of energy for recycling, a technology of tertiary recycling of synthetic polymers and as a way to transform nonrecyclable rejects into fuels, negative emissions, and other marketable products.
{"title":"Evolution of pyrolysis and gasification as waste to energy tools for low carbon economy","authors":"D. Porshnov","doi":"10.1002/wene.421","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.421","url":null,"abstract":"The paper aims to review the state of the art in the field of pyrolysis and gasification of waste and to identify approaches that can be prospective considering the upcoming transformation of society. The results show that the transition to a circular, low carbon economy will significantly change the composition of municipal wastes, making thermochemical approaches more and more competitive. However, it does not mean that pyrolysis and gasification will outperform incineration in the field of traditional waste to energy. Novel thermochemical waste management approaches must not be viewed as competitors, but rather as the successors of the traditional mass‐burn incineration. The transition to a circular, low carbon economy will result in an emergence of new needs, new products and thus in possibilities of new pyrolysis and gasification‐based business models different from the waste to energy concept. Negative emissions, energy storage, stabilization of renewable grids as well as renewable fuels must be mentioned as examples of such new products. Thus, thermochemical processing technologies should be embedded into the wider concept of circular, low carbon economy as the source of energy for recycling, a technology of tertiary recycling of synthetic polymers and as a way to transform nonrecyclable rejects into fuels, negative emissions, and other marketable products.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49153557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solar thermal power plants for electricity production include, at least, two main systems: the solar field and the power block. Regarding this last one, the particular thermodynamic cycle layout and the working fluid employed, have a decisive influence in the plant performance. In turn, this selection depends on the solar technology employed. Currently, the steam Rankine cycle is the most widespread and commercially available option, usually coupled to a parabolic trough solar field. However, other configurations have been implemented in solar thermal plants worldwide. Most of them are based on other solar technologies also coupled to a steam Rankine cycle, although integrated solar combined cycles have a significant level of implementation. In the first place, power block configurations based on conventional thermodynamic cycles—Rankine, Brayton, and combined Brayton–Rankine—are described. The achievements and challenges of each proposal are highlighted, for example, the benefits involved in hybrid solar source/fossil fuel plants. In the second place, proposals of advanced power block configurations are analyzed, standing out: supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles, advanced organic Rankine cycles, and innovative integrated solar combined cycles. Each of these proposals shows some advantages compared to the conventional layouts in certain power or source temperature ranges and hence they could be considered attractive options in the medium term. At last, a brief review of proposals of solar thermal integration with other renewable heat sources is also included.
{"title":"Thermodynamic cycles for solar thermal power plants: A review","authors":"Marta Muñoz, A. Rovira, M. J. Montes","doi":"10.1002/wene.420","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.420","url":null,"abstract":"Solar thermal power plants for electricity production include, at least, two main systems: the solar field and the power block. Regarding this last one, the particular thermodynamic cycle layout and the working fluid employed, have a decisive influence in the plant performance. In turn, this selection depends on the solar technology employed. Currently, the steam Rankine cycle is the most widespread and commercially available option, usually coupled to a parabolic trough solar field. However, other configurations have been implemented in solar thermal plants worldwide. Most of them are based on other solar technologies also coupled to a steam Rankine cycle, although integrated solar combined cycles have a significant level of implementation. In the first place, power block configurations based on conventional thermodynamic cycles—Rankine, Brayton, and combined Brayton–Rankine—are described. The achievements and challenges of each proposal are highlighted, for example, the benefits involved in hybrid solar source/fossil fuel plants. In the second place, proposals of advanced power block configurations are analyzed, standing out: supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles, advanced organic Rankine cycles, and innovative integrated solar combined cycles. Each of these proposals shows some advantages compared to the conventional layouts in certain power or source temperature ranges and hence they could be considered attractive options in the medium term. At last, a brief review of proposals of solar thermal integration with other renewable heat sources is also included.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47336835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs) are potential candidates as power sources for various applications, especially in portable electronics and medical diagnostic devices. Though they have been the subject of considerable research, commercial prototypes of DFAFCs are rudimentary compared to other liquid fuel cells, particularly the widespread methanol‐based direct methanol fuel cells. Various strategies for rationally engineering the electrocatalysts for enhancing DFAFC performance have been explored in the last few years, such as alloying noble metals with earth‐abundant transition metals, designing specific morphological and structural arrangements, decorating the surface with corrosion‐tolerant cocatalysts, and providing better catalyst support for effective catalyst dispersion. An overall approach may be necessary and should include (i) understanding the underlying mechanism, which will guide the direction of catalyst engineering, (ii) employing morphological, compositional, and structural control of the electrocatalysts to improve catalyst utilization and enhance the intrinsic activity for real‐world applications, and (iii) integrating these in a proficiently designed cell architecture suitable for targeted applications. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in electrocatalysts, formic acid electrooxidation mechanisms, and DFAFC cell architectures, which could help address the opportunities and challenges of commercializing DFAFC as a prospective alternative power source for portable applications.
{"title":"Recent advances in electrocatalysts, mechanism, and cell architecture for direct formic acid fuel cells","authors":"R. Bhaskaran, B. Abraham, R. Chetty","doi":"10.1002/wene.419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.419","url":null,"abstract":"Direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs) are potential candidates as power sources for various applications, especially in portable electronics and medical diagnostic devices. Though they have been the subject of considerable research, commercial prototypes of DFAFCs are rudimentary compared to other liquid fuel cells, particularly the widespread methanol‐based direct methanol fuel cells. Various strategies for rationally engineering the electrocatalysts for enhancing DFAFC performance have been explored in the last few years, such as alloying noble metals with earth‐abundant transition metals, designing specific morphological and structural arrangements, decorating the surface with corrosion‐tolerant cocatalysts, and providing better catalyst support for effective catalyst dispersion. An overall approach may be necessary and should include (i) understanding the underlying mechanism, which will guide the direction of catalyst engineering, (ii) employing morphological, compositional, and structural control of the electrocatalysts to improve catalyst utilization and enhance the intrinsic activity for real‐world applications, and (iii) integrating these in a proficiently designed cell architecture suitable for targeted applications. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in electrocatalysts, formic acid electrooxidation mechanisms, and DFAFC cell architectures, which could help address the opportunities and challenges of commercializing DFAFC as a prospective alternative power source for portable applications.","PeriodicalId":48766,"journal":{"name":"Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews-Energy and Environment","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2021-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41865059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}