Wind energy harvesting for electricity generation has a significant role in overcoming the challenges involved with climate change and the energy resource implications involved with population growth and political unrest. Indeed, there has been significant growth in wind energy capacity worldwide with turbine capacity growing significantly over the last two decades. This confidence is echoed in the wind power market and global wind energy statistics. However, wind energy capture and utilisation has always been challenging. Appreciation of the wind as a resource makes for difficulties in modelling and the sensitivities of how the wind resource maps to energy production results in an energy harvesting opportunity. An opportunity that is dependent on different system parameters, namely the wind as a resource, technology and system synergies in realizing an optimal wind energy harvest. This paper presents a thorough review of the state of the art concerning the realization of optimal wind energy harvesting and utilisation. The wind energy resource and, more specifically, the influence of wind speed and wind energy resource forecasting are considered in conjunction with technological considerations and how system optimization can realise more effective operational efficiencies. Moreover, non-technological issues affecting wind energy harvesting are also considered. These include standards and regulatory implications with higher levels of grid integration and higher system non-synchronous penetration (SNSP). The review concludes that hybrid forecasting techniques enable a more accurate and predictable resource appreciation and that a hybrid power system that employs a multi-objective optimization approach is most suitable in achieving an optimal configuration for maximum energy harvesting.

Iron supported on ZSM-5 is a widely studied catalyst for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS). Iron is activated with H₂, CO, or a mixture of CO and H₂ prior to FTS, resulting in phase transformations that make it challenging to understand structure–property relationships. In this work, we demonstrate that increasing the pretreatment temperature of Fe–Na-ZSM-5 reduces CO conversion irrespective of the reductant, but the product selectivity, iron particle size, composition, CO adsorption properties, and zeolite structure is dependent on both the pretreatment temperature and reductant. Pretreatment of Fe–Na-ZSM-5 in H₂ induces sintering of iron particles, increasing C₂–C₄ olefins and C₅₊ hydrocarbons selectivity from 19.0% and 14.0% at 350 °C to 28.2% and 25.4% at 770 °C, respectively. Conversely, CO pretreatment facilitates carbide formation, coke deposition, and CH₄ formation.

The polymorphism of tungsten carbide (W _x C) and the challenge of selectively synthesizing pure phases have impeded a precise understanding of catalytic structure–property relationships. This study establishes a framework for phase-selective synthesis of W _x C through controlling carburization kinetics. By maintaining particle sizes below 10 nm, β-W₂C is selectively synthesized using gaseous carbon precursors (CH₄/H₂) via temperature-programmed carburization (TPC). Our findings reveal that W₂C stabilization is predominantly dictated by particle size and carburization kinetics rather than support interactions, providing a tunable approach to synthesize tungsten carbide catalysts. We elucidate the mechanistic pathway of WO _x carburization, demonstrating that CH₄ activation occurs at mild temperatures via lattice oxygen. Our reactor studies establish ex situ synthesized β-W₂C as an active and stable catalyst for the reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction. However, the need for passivation and reduction pretreatment leads to a complex surface structure with diminished intrinsic activity. In contrast, our in situ synthesis protocol for β-W₂C eliminates the need for passivation and exhibits increased CO STY during RWGS, illustrating the intrinsically higher activity compared to metallic W, WC_1–x (0.5 < x < 1), and stoichiometric WC.

Leveraging thermal gradients on catalyst surfaces remains largely underexplored despite their profound effects on reaction kinetics. In this work, we use upconverting nanoparticle (UCNP)-based luminescence thermometry to directly measure catalyst surface temperatures under in situ conditions during thermally coupled tandem reactions. Using UCNPs loaded on a model dual-functional material (DFM), Pt–CaO/CeO₂, we observe hot spots of ∼10−100 °C above the bulk bed temperature during exothermic CO oxidation. Isotopically labeled ¹³CO₂ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) supports our hypothesis that reaction-generated heat drives endothermic CO₂ desorption from CaO. Proximity studies show that nanoscale co-localization of Pt and CaO improves thermal coupling relative to dual-bed configurations, highlighting the importance of spatial organization. Comparison of UCNP thermometry with thermocouple readings further demonstrates that bulk temperature measurements underestimate true surface temperatures during exothermic reactions, underscoring the critical role of probe placement for accurate kinetic evaluation. Our methodology opens new avenues for accurate kinetic analysis, in situ thermal profiling, and rational design of thermally integrated tandem catalysts and DFMs, with direct implications for more complex transformations such as CO₂ hydrogenation.

Bimetallic carbide formation tunes CO ₂ and CO adsorption, overcoming phase limitations of tungsten carbide and enhancing reverse water–gas shift (RWGS) catalysis.

CO2-derived fuels can advance carbon recycling efforts by providing drop-in replacements for hard-to-decarbonize sectors, such as aviation, while storing surplus renewable energy. A promising route for synfuel production consists of a two-step process, combining the reverse water gas shift reaction (CO2 + H2 ↔ CO + H2O) with Fischer–Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons (CO + 2H2 → -(CH2)- + H2O). To ensure a high yield of heavier synfuels, low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (LT-FTS) is necessary. While Ru-doped Co single-atom alloys (SAAs) have shown promise as LT-FTS catalysts, the potential of other transition metal promoters remains largely unexplored. Herein, we employed density functional theory (DFT) calculations to screen various Co-based SAAs for LT-FTS. Catalytic trends were inferred from the reaction energetics of key FTS elementary steps. Activity descriptor analysis revealed poor correlations between the activation and reaction energies, likely rooted in the poor electronic mixing between host and promoter atoms in SAAs. To overcome this, the adsorption energies of small molecules were used as activity descriptors, maintaining configurational similarities between the binding modes of the probing species and the transition state geometries. To corroborate the DFT-predicted trends, temperature-programmed reactor studies were conducted on Re–Co and V–Co SAAs, the two most promising systems identified. Activity and selectivity deviations were observed experimentally compared to the DFT predictions, suggesting that catalyst deactivation might occur. To this end, reducibility trends were investigated both computationally (DFT-computed oxygen-vacancy formation energies) and experimentally (temperature-programmed reduction studies). Both approaches revealed differences in the reducibility trends previously reported on intermetallic systems. Overall, this work highlights how electronic and structural catalytic effects change at dilute promoter concentrations.