Environment and energy

Latest articles

Strata at the Illinois Basin Decatur Project

Microscale structure of rock affects microseismicity at underground carbon dioxide storage site

Energy transitions and sustainable transformations in Africa

Join the audience for a live webinar on 5 December 2022 sponsored by IOP Publishing's journal, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability

Want to slash your energy bill? Try these record-breaking solar cells

James McKenzie examines the potential of new “tandem” solar cells

Research headlines

Cosmic muons probe the interiors of tropical cyclones

Imaging technique could be used to improve storm forecasts

New design for solar laser could have applications in space

Four-mirror pumping of laser rods avoids uneven heating

LED streetlights are increasing blue-light pollution in Europe

Study highlights threats to human health, wildlife and the night sky

Trapped fluid in undersea sediments contributed to 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, new study reveals

Newfound understanding could help identify similar faults

Quantum sensor could reduce electric-vehicle battery weight by 10%

Diamond impurities measure electrical current in noisy environments

Floating artificial leaves could produce solar-generated fuel

New devices might make it possible to locate solar farms on water, not land

Podcasts about environmental physics

Photo of a man clapping in a crowd at a football stadium

Is the 2022 FIFA World Cup really carbon neutral?

Celebrating joy in #BlackInPhysics week, open-access publishing supports climate justice

Sand battery stores renewable energy, the economics of domestic heat pumps and solar panels

Environment and energy – Browse the ebooks collection

Connecting you to the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date research in this globally-expanding field.

Browse the most recently published titles.

Opinion and reviews

Humane solutions for the massive human migration caused by climate catastrophe

The proposed design of wind-powered ship Oceanbird

Winds of change: could hi-tech sailing vessels turn global shipping green?

James McKenzie wonders if a new generation of wind-powered vessels could make shipping more environmentally friendly

Art, science and the Anthropocene: tales of life on a warming planet

Ian Randall reviews Tomorrow's Parties: Life in the Anthropocene, edited by Jonathan Strahan

Explore more in environment and energy

Stadium 947, built from shipping containers, viewed from the sea

Qatar: the land where one sports pitch needs 50,000 litres of desalinated water a day

Despite the upcoming World Cup, sporting mega events and local sports clubs are inspiring environmental change

Climate tipping points: retreating from the brink and accelerating positive change

James Dacey finds out how new research into human-climate systems could help us to avert disaster

OCV hysteresis and heat evolution – studying batteries with calorimetry

Join the audience for a Battery Series live webinar on 15 December 2022 sponsored by TA Instruments – Waters and The Electrochemical Society, in partnership with IOP Publishing

A broad review on the safety of aged lithium-ion batteries

Available to watch now, a Battery Series webinar, sponsored by TA Instruments – Waters and The Electrochemical Society, explore the aged cell safety of lithium-ion batteries

Capturing carbon dioxide with batteries and supercapacitors

Join the audience for a live webinar on 7 December 2022 sponsored by Hiden Analytical, in partnership with The Electrochemical Society

Insights on thermal runaway of Li-ion cells from The Battery Failure Databank

Available to watch now, a Battery Series live webinar giving you an insight into the thermal runaway of Li-ion cells from The Battery Failure Databank

The role of electrochemistry in Canada’s plan to manage nuclear waste

Join the audience for a live webinar on 30 November 2022 sponsored by BioLogic and Hiden Analytical, in partnership with The Electrochemical Society

Graphic of a space-based solar panel beaming energy back to Earth

Launching solar farms in space

Space-based solar power could replace fossil fuels in energy mixes

Conceptual image of one green house among lots of grey houses

Home, green home: scientific solutions for cutting carbon and (maybe) saving money

Margaret Harris investigates the options for ditching fossil fuels as a source of domestic heat and electricity

CERN slashes experiment time next year by 20% as energy costs bite

Heavy-ion programme at CERN will be cancelled too

Climate change expected to reduce the quality of ground-based astronomical observations

Study shows that current climate trends will likely lead to reductions in observing time due to poor conditions

Artist impression of space-based solar power

Space-based solar power: could beaming sunlight back to Earth meet our energy needs?

Jon Cartwright weighs up ambitious plans to beam solar power from space to Earth

Low-temperature water electrolysers – advantages, bottlenecks and outlook

Available to watch now, The Electrochemical Society in partnership with Gamry Instruments, BioLogic and Hiden Analytical, explores recent advances on low-temperature water electrol...