Editorial: Lithium metal anode protection

In this special issue, Zhang et al. (Zhang et al., 2022) reviewed the advances in the structural design and the selection of the current collectors and their textures for controlled lithium deposition. These authors also presented some of their efforts in realizing controlled lithium deposition by designing current collectors in three aspects, lithium deposition induced by the micro-to-nano structures, lithiophilic alloys, and iron carbides. Verbrugge et al. (Verbrugge et al., 2022) clarified the degradation phenomena in a pouch cell that contains an insertion electrode (lithiated NMC622) using lithium metal as a counter electrode finding that cation-mixing is the dominant mechanism for capacity loss in these Li||Ni0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 cells. Carter et al. (Carter et al., 2019) detected that charging during thermal transients promotes the lithium plating conditions altering the long-term performance and safety of Li-ion batteries. This work exemplifies the importance of understanding the role of thermal transients in pack assemblies to enable safe operation. Miyazaki (Miyazaki, 2020) reviewed the recent progress of anodes with high capacity for all-solidstate lithium-ion batteries. Liu et al. (Liu, Zhu and Shiraz, 2018)reviewed the use of atomic layer deposition as a powerful approach toward 3D solid-state batteries with high-capacity I sincerely thank the Editorial Team of Frontiers in Energy Research for their hard work to get the publication of special issue. I extend my sincere gratitude to all the authors, reviewers, and contributors who have made this special issue possible. I hope that the insights and discoveries presented here will inspire further innovation and progress toward realizing the full potential of lithium metal as a cornerstone of the next-generation battery technologies.