Focus on overview of innovative materials for energy

Innovative materials for energy play an important role in major fields of science and technology, including life and environmental sciences and many interdisciplinary fields. This focus issue contains several reviews and primary research articles devoted to materials for energy conversion (photovoltaic, lighting, solid oxide fuel cells, etc.) and energy harvesting applications. This focus issue was organized within a collaboration between Japan and France. Half of its articles originate from joint research structures, such as the International Joint Research Unit (UMI 3757 ELytMax, UMI 3629 LINK) and the Associated International Laboratory (LIA NextPV). This issue also features works carried out in close partnership between French and Japanese research teams in areas related to materials for energy. It clearly demonstrates the dynamic exchange in this field between these two countries, from basic to applied science. This Foreword includes the encouraging words of Laurent Pic, the Ambassador of France to Japan. We would like to thank him and the Embassy of France in Japan for their support. We are also grateful to all the involved authors and reviewers, as without their help this focus issue would not have been published on time. Fabien Grasset Laboratory for Innovative Key Materials and Structures, UMI 3629 LINK, NIMS-Saint Gobain-CNRS, National Institute for Material Science, Tsukuba, Japan [email protected] http://orcid. org/0000-0002-4911-0214