The sustainable production of energy without environmental footprints is a challenge of paramount importance to satisfy the ever-increasing global demand and to promote economic and social growth through a greener perspective. Such awareness has significantly stimulated worldwide efforts aimed at exploring various energy paths and sources, in compliance with the ever more stringent environmental regulations. Research advancements in these fields are directly dependent on the design, fabrication, and implementation of tailored multi-materials for efficient energy production and harvesting and storage devices. Herein, we aim at providing a survey on the ongoing research activities related to various aspects of functional materials for energy production, conversion, and storage. In particular, we present the opportunities and the main open challenges related to multifunctional materials spanning from carbon-based nanostructures for chemical energy conversion, ferroelectric ceramics for energy harvesting, and phase change materials for thermal energy storage to metallic materials for hydrogen technologies, heat exchangers for wind energy, and amphiphobic coatings for the protection of solar panels. The relevance of designing tailored materials for power generation is also presented. Finally, the importance of applying life cycle assessment to materials is emphasized through the case study of AlTiN thin films.

Global decarbonization represents one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Geothermal energy offers a robust alternative for reducing fossil fuel dependency for both residential and industrial heating and cooling. While shallow geothermal systems are versatile and high-performing, comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) remain scarce in the literature. This study evaluates the environmental impact of the manufacturing and installation processes of next-generation coaxial probes featuring a galvanized steel outer tube and an internal polyethylene pipe. The LCA identifies material composition as the primary environmental driver: steel production accounts for 41% of the total impact, while the hot-dip galvanization process contributes 30%, significantly affecting the “climate change” and the “resource use” categories. A comparative LCA with conventional double U-tube installations shows similar overall environmental impacts. A sensitivity analysis on the coaxial probes was conducted to explore potential mitigation strategies aimed at reducing the associated environmental impacts, providing indications for sustainable eco-design. The LCA results demonstrate that optimizing the design, specifically by reducing the steel quantity in the coaxial outer tube and avoiding the zinc coating process, results in a 34% reduction in total environmental impact, confirming that LCA is a fundamental tool for supporting the environmental sustainability of developing technologies.