Energy Conversion and Storage at the Centre of a Global Transition

Advanced Energy MaterialsVolume 12, Issue 1 2103760 EditorialFree Access Energy Conversion and Storage at the Centre of a Global Transition First published: 06 January 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202103760AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Writing this editorial in the weeks after the COP26 summit in Glasgow, the driving force for much of the research published in this journal is just now, cast into sharp relief. To avoid catastrophic global warming, transitioning away from fossil fuels as an energy source is more urgent than ever. Innovation in energy conversion and storage will play a key role in this massive global shift. Over the last decade, developments in the solar cell industry have shown exactly what is possible when constantly advancing technology dovetails with political will. Compared to 2010, the global levelized cost of electricity produced via photovoltaics has dropped a stunning 85%. Political will and market forces have helped to realize the benefits of massive scale production, but none of this would be possible without the pioneering work on silicon based solar cells carried out through the 20th century. The next generations of solar cells will be based on the work that is being done today by the research community. While commercially produced silicon based solar cells reliably achieve efficiencies in the 20% range, a report in late 2021 from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin has perovskite cells tantalizingly close to the 30% mark. Of course, efficiency and cost are by no means the only parameters that determine the sustainability of a given solar cell. If the materials used to produce the cell are derived from dirty, fossil fuel intensive processes, then their carbon footprint can be substantial. 2021's Issue 43 (Figure 1) looked at just this problem, with Víctor A. de la Peña O'Shea and Rubén D. Costa bringing together a fascinating collection of articles on the theme of sustainable materials in solar energy conversion and storage. Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint The choice of materials used in energy conversion and storage can have a massive impact on that technology's carbon footprint. With the increased global focus on energy conversion and storage, has come more funding, more research and more manuscripts. Assisting the various research communities who fall under this umbrella, to easily stay up to date with this influx, is a key priority of our editorial team. As such we are proud to support the Emerging PV reports initiative, with the second instalment of this regular summary of research progress in photovoltaics published in issue 48 of 2021 (Figure 2). A similar motivation is at the heart of the Solar Cell Data Reporting Checklists initiative, which was rolled out in 2021 and is intended to encourage the use of transparent device performance measurement standards. Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Instalment 2 of the emerging PV materials report extended the reports' scope toward tandem solar cells. Reproduced with permission.1] Copyright 2021, The Authors, published by Wiley-VCH. On the energy storage side of the green energy equation, a corresponding Battery and Supercapacitor Data Reporting Checklist was also introduced in 2021. In the pilot phase of this initiative these checklists are being made visible to reviewers, with publication in the supporting information of manuscripts expected to follow in early 2022. As 2022 begins, we are very much looking forward to being able to share the results of various projects. One of those to keep a particular eye out for, will be our continuing collaboration with the Battery 2030+ team, a European project aiming to provide a platform for the development of the sustainable batteries of the future. As the global community shifts rapidly toward greener more sustainable energy sources, the nurturing of vibrant research communities has never been more important. As we in the editorial team work to play our small part, we would like to sincerely thank our Editorial Advisory Board members, authors, reviewers, and readers for their support. All of you make up this community and we are ever humbled to be a part of it. Bring on 2022! We can't wait to see what's in store. Aaron Brown, on behalf of the Advanced Energy Materials editorial team. References 1O. Almora, D. Baran, G. C. Bazan, C. Berger, C. I. Cabrera, K. R. Catchpole, S. Erten-Ela, F. Guo, J. Hauch, A. W. Y. Ho-Baillie, T. J. Jacobsson, R. A. J. Janssen, T. Kirchartz, N Kopidakis, Y. Li, M. A. Loi, R. R. Lunt, X. Mathew, M. D. McGehee, J. Min, D. B. Mitzi, M. K. Nazeeruddin, J. Nelson, A. F. Nogueira, U. W. Paetzold, N.-G. Park, B. P. Rand, U. Rau, H. J. Snaith, E. Unger, L. Vaillant-Roca, H.-L. Yip, C. J. Brabec, Adv. Energy Mater 2021, 11, 2102526. Wiley Online LibraryCASWeb of Science®Google Scholar Volume12, Issue1January 6, 20222103760 FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation