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Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020 to the present

Notable events in energy research since 2020 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020 to the present
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This timeline of sustainable energy research from 2020 to the present documents research and development in renewable energy, solar energy, and nuclear energy, particularly regarding energy production that is sustainable within the Earth system.

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Renewable energy capacity has steadily grown, led by solar photovoltaic power.[1]

Events currently not included in the timelines include:

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Prior history of energy consumption sources up to 2018
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Grids

Smart grids

2022

  • A study provides results of simulations and analysis of "transactive energy mechanisms to engage the large-scale deployment of flexible distributed energy resources (DERs), such as air conditioners, water heaters, batteries, and electric vehicles, in the operation of the electric power system".[2][3]

Super grids

2022

Microgrids and off-the-grid

  • Researchers describe a way for "inherently robust, scalable method of integration using multiple energy storage systems and distributed energy resources, which does not require any means of dedicated communication improvised controls", which could make microgrids easy and low cost "where they are needed most" such as during a power outage or after a disaster.[5][6]
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Solar power

Summarize
Perspective
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Reported timeline of research solar cell energy conversion efficiencies since 1976 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

2020

  • 6 March – Scientists show that adding a layer of perovskite crystals on top of textured or planar silicon to create a tandem solar cell enhances its performance up to a power conversion efficiency of 26%. This could be a low cost way to increase efficiency of solar cells.[9][10]
  • 13 July – The first global assessment into promising approaches of solar photovoltaic modules recycling is published. Scientists recommend "research and development to reduce recycling costs and environmental impacts compared to disposal while maximizing material recovery" as well as facilitation and use of techno–economic analyses.[11][12]
  • 3 July – Scientists show that adding an organic-based ionic solid into perovskites can result in substantial improvement in solar cell performance and stability. The study also reveals a complex degradation route that is responsible for failures in aged perovskite solar cells. The understanding could help the future development of photovoltaic technologies with industrially relevant longevity.[13][14][importance?]

2021

  • 12 April – Scientists develop a prototype and design rules for both-sides-contacted silicon solar cells with conversion efficiencies of 26% and above, Earth's highest for this type of solar cell.[15][16][importance?]
  • 21 May – The first industrial commercial production line of perovskite solar panels, using an inkjet printing procedure, is launched in Poland.[19]
  • 13 December – Researchers report the development of a database and analysis tool about perovskite solar cells which systematically integrates over 15,000 publications, in particular device-data about over 42,400 of such photovoltaic devices.[20][21]
  • 16 December – ML System from Jasionka, Poland, opens first quantum glass production line. The factory started the production of windows integrating a transparent quantum-dots layer that can produce electricity while also capable of cooling buildings.[22][importance?]

2022

  • 30 May - A team at Fraunhofer ISE led by Frank Dimroth developed a 4-junction solar cell with an efficiency of 47.6% - a new world record for solar energy conversion.[23][importance?]
  • 13 July – Researchers report the development of semitransparent solar cells that are as large as windows,[24] after team members achieved record efficiency with high transparency in 2020.[25][26] On 4 July, researchers report the fabrication of solar cells with a record average visible transparency of 79%, being nearly invisible.[27][28]

2024

  • 12 March – Scientists demonstrate the first monolithically integrated tandem solar cell using selenium as the photoabsorbing layer in the top cell, and silicon as the photoabsorbing layer in the bottom cell.[32]

2025

High-altitude and space-based solar power

Ongoing research and development projects include SSPS-OMEGA,[33][34] SPS-ALPHA,[35][36] and the Solaris program.[37][38][39]

2020

2023

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Floating solar

2020

  • A study concludes that deploying floating solar panels on existing hydro reservoirs could generate 16%–40% (4,251 to 10,616 TWh/year) of global energy needs when not considering project-siting constraints, local development regulations, "economic or market potential" and potential future technology improvements.[46][47]

2022

  • Researchers develop floating artificial leaves for light-driven hydrogen and syngas fuel production. The lightweight, flexible perovskite devices are scalable and can float on water similar to lotus leaves.[48][49]

2023

Agrivoltaics

  • 2021 – An improved agrivoltaic system with a grooved glass plate is demonstrated.[52][53]
  • 2021 – A report reviews several studies[54][55] about the potential of agrivoltaics, which partly suggest "high potential of agrivoltaics as a viable and efficient technology" and outline concerns for refinements to the technology.[56]
  • 2022 – Researchers report the development of greenhouses (or solar modules) by a startup that generate electricity from a portion of the spectrum of sunlight, allowing spectra that interior plants use to pass through.[57][58]
  • 2023 – Demonstration of another agrivoltaic greenhouse which outperforms a conventional glass-roof greenhouse.[59][60]

Solar-powered production

Water production

Early 2020s
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Wind power

2021

  • A study using simulations finds that large scale vertical-axis wind turbines could outcompete conventional HAWTs (horizontal axis) wind farm turbines.[71][72]
  • Scientists report that due to decreases in power generation efficiency of wind farms downwind of offshore wind farms, cross-national limits and potentials for optimization need to be considered in strategic decision-making.[73][74]
  • Researchers report, based on simulations, how large wind-farm performance can be significantly improved using windbreaks.[75][76]
  • The world's first fully autonomous commercial "airborne wind energy" system (an airborne wind turbine) is launched by a company.[77]
  • An U.S. congressionally directed report concludes that "the resource potential of wind energy available to AWE systems is likely similar to that available to traditional wind energy systems" but that "AWE would need significant further development before it could deploy at meaningful scales at the national level".[77]

2023

2024

Hydrogen energy

2022

2023

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Hydroelectricity and marine energy

2021

  • Engineers report the development of a prototype wave energy converter that is twice as efficient as similar existing experimental technologies, which could be a major step towards practical viability of tapping into the sustainable energy source.[109][110]
  • A study investigates how tidal energy could be best integrated into the Orkney energy system.[111] A few days earlier, a review assesses the potential of tidal energy in the UK's energy systems, finding that it could, according to their considerations that include an economic cost-benefit analysis, deliver 34 TWh/y or 11% of its energy demand.[112][113]
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Energy storage

Electric batteries

2022

2023

Thermal energy storage

Novel and emerging types

  • 2021 – A company generates its first power from a gravity battery at a site in Edinburgh.[121] Other gravity batteries are also under construction by other companies.[122]
  • 2022 – A study describes using lifts and empty apartments in tall buildings to store energy, estimating global potential around 30 to 300 GWh.[123][124]
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Nuclear fusion

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Geothermal energy

2022

Waste heat recovery

2020

  • Reviews about WHR in the aluminium industry[149] and cement industry[150] are published.

2023

  • A report by the company Danfoss estimates EU's excess heat recovery potential, suggesting there is "huge, unharnessed potential" and that action could involve initial mapping of existing waste heat sources.[151]

Bioenergy, chemical engineering and biotechnology

2020

2022

2023

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General

Summarize
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Research about sustainable energy in general or across different types.

Other energy-need reductions

Research and development of (technical) means to substantially or systematically reduce need for energy beyond smart grids, education / educational technology (such as about differential environmental impacts of diets), transportation infrastructure (bicycles and rail transport) and conventional improvements of energy efficiency on the level of the energy system.

2020

  • A study shows a set of different scenarios of minimal energy requirements for providing decent living standards globally, finding that – according to their models, assessments and data – by 2050 global energy use could be reduced to 1960 levels despite 'sufficiency' still being materially relatively generous.[162][163][164]

2022

Materials and recycling

2020

2021

  • Neodymium, an essential rare-earth element (REE), plays a key role in making permanent magnets for wind turbines. Demand for REEs is expected to double by 2035 due to renewable energy growth, posing environmental risks, including radioactive waste from their extraction.[170]

2023

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Flow chart of proposed or possible product stewardship scheme for new solar PV panels[175]

Seabed mining

2020
  • Researchers assess to what extent international law and existing policy support the practice of a proactive knowledge management system that enables systematic addressing of uncertainties about the environmental effects of seabed mining via regulations that, for example, enable the International Seabed Authority to actively engage in generating and synthesizing information.[177]
2021
  • A moratorium on deep-sea mining until rigorous and transparent impact assessments are carried out is adopted at the 2021 world congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The vote, however, has no legal implications given that deep-sea mining regulations continue to be governed by the International Seabed Authority as established by UNCLOS.[178][179][180] Researchers have outlined why there is a need to avoid mining the deep sea.[181][182][183][184][185]
  • Nauru requested the ISA to finalize rules so that The Metals Company be approved to begin work in 2023.[186]
  • China's COMRA tested its polymetallic nodules collection system at 4,200 feet of depth in the East and South China Seas. The Dayang Yihao was exploring the Clarion–Clipperton zone (CCZ) for China Minmetals when it crossed into the U.S. exclusive economic zone near Hawaii, where for five days it looped south of Honolulu without having requested entry into US waters.[187]
  • Belgian company Global Sea Mineral Resources (GSR) and the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) conduct a test in the CCZ with a prototype mining vehicle named Patania II. This test was the first of its kind since the late 1970s.[2]
2022
2023
  • Supporters of mining were led by Norway, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, and supported by The Metals Company.[186]
  • Chinese prospecting ship Dayang Hao prospected in China-licensed areas in the Clarion Clipperton Zone.[187]
2024
  • Norway approved commercial deep-sea mining. 80% of Parliament voted to approve.[192]
  • On February 7, 2024, the European Parliament voted in favor of a Motion for Resolution, expressing environmental concerns regarding Norway's decision to open vast areas in Arctic waters for deep-sea mining activities and reaffirming its support for a moratorium.[193][194]
  • In July 2024, at the 29th General Assembly of the International Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica, 32 countries united against the imminent start of mining for metallic nodules on the seafloor.[195] In his address titled "Upholding the Common Heritage of Humankind", President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. of Palau highlighted the critical need to protect the deep ocean from exploitation and modern-day colonialism.[196][197]
  • In November 2024, the People's Republic of China unveiled its first deep-sea drilling vehicle.[198]
  • In December 2024 Norway suspended deep sea mining, after the Socialist Left (SV) party said that otherwise, it would not support the budget.[199]
2025
  • In April 2025, U.S. President Trump signed an Executive Order instructing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to expedite permits for companies to mine in both international and U.S. territorial waters, which would undermine the authority of the International Seabed Authority.[200]

Maintenance

Maintenance of sustainable energy systems could be automated, standardized and simplified and the required resources and efforts for such get reduced via research relevant for their design and processes like waste management.

2022

  • Researchers demonstrate electrostatic dust removal from solar panels.[201][202]

Economics

2021

  • A review finds that the pace of cost-decline of renewables has been underestimated and that an "open cost-database would greatly benefit the energy scenario community".[203][204] A 2022 study comes to similar conclusions.[205][206]

2022

Feasibility studies and energy system models

2020

  • A study suggests that all sector defossilisation can be achieved worldwide even for nations with severe conditions. The study suggests that integration impacts depend on "demand profiles, flexibility and storage cost".[209][210]

2021

2022

2023

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Assessment of pathways for building heating in the EU[217] (more)
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See also

Not yet included

Timelines of related areas

References

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