This special volume of MRS Bulletin on energy is the first of its
kind in which the magazine addresses a major societal issue This
issue has contributions from energy experts from many countries
and reflects not only the growing global concerns on energy but
also the opportunities that materials researchers can tackle Some
of the new materials are already available, and many are or will be
under development Nuclear fusion might still be many decades
away, but already, there are experiments with new materials to
make fusion safe and viable Hydrogen, as is often said, is not a
fuel, but as a carrier of energy, perhaps it would make a difference
when combined with fuel cells Solar cells might turn out to be
relevant in forms that we can now only imagine and work toward
