Ensuring the energy transition in order to decrease CO₂ and volatile organic compounds emissions and improve the efficiency of energy processes requires the development of advanced materials and technologies for the electrical energy sector. The article reviews superconducting materials, functional nanomaterials used in the power industry mainly due to their magnetic, electrical, optical, and dielectric properties and the thin layers of amorphous carbon nitride, which properties make them an important material from the point of view of environmental protection, optoelectronic, photovoltaic and energy storage. The superconductivity-based technologies, material processing, and thermal and nonthermal plasma generation have been reviewed as technologies that can be a solution to chosen problems in the electrical energy sector and environment. The study explains directly both—the basics and application potential of low and high-temperature superconductors as well as peculiarities of the related manufacturing technologies for Roebel cables, 1G and 2G HTS tapes, and superconductor coil systems. Among the superconducting materials, particular attention was paid to the magnesium di-boride MgB₂ and its potential applications in the power industry. The benefits of the use of carbon films with amorphous structures in electronics, sensing technologies, solar cells, FETs, and memory devices were discussed. The article provides the information about most interesting, from the R&D point of view, groups of materials for PV applications. It summarises the advantages and disadvantages of their use regarding commercial requirements such as efficiency, lifetime, light absorption, impact on the environment, costs of production, and weather dependency. Silicon processing, inkjet printing, vacuum deposition, and evaporation technologies that allow obtaining improved and strengthened materials for solar cell manufacturing are also described. In the case of the widely developed plasma generation field, waste-to-hydrogen technology including both thermal and non-thermal plasma techniques has been discussed. The review aims to draw attention to the problems faced by the modern power industry and to encourage research in this area because many of these problems can only be solved within the framework of interdisciplinary and international cooperation.

The article presents a mini-review of key factors significantly affecting the electrical properties of nanofluids. One-step and two-step approaches, together with examples of vacuum sputtering-based techniques, chemical reduction, and mechanical mixing techniques, were explained. The crucial factors enhancing the electric and dielectric responses, such as nanofiller concentration, its type, geometry, uniformity of distribution in the base liquid as well as the base liquid’s type, temperature, chemical stability, etc., were analyzed. Special attention was paid to the impact of the parameters on electrical conductivity, permittivity, and dielectric losses. The selected models for nanofluid’s conductivity prediction have been presented. The potential and implemented applications of nanofluids in the energy-related industry branches with reference to their electrical properties have been reviewed. Examples of applications in power transformers, solar cell production processes, nanoelectrofuel flow batteries, and other electrotechnologies have been analyzed.