Harnessing functional ceramics for climate change mitigation: the role of glass-ceramics and high-temperature superconductors

Functional ceramics are playing an increasingly important role in addressing the climate crisis by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These highly engineered materials enable a wide range of cutting-edge applications due to their multifunctional properties and are recognized as a critical class of materials. In this commentary, we highlight the historical perspective, recent trends, and current status of selected functional ceramics—such as glass-ceramics and high-temperature superconducting ceramics—along with their potential to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future. In the context of practical energy technologies, ion conducting glass-ceramics can exhibit an electrical conductivity of ~ 10-5~10-3 S·cm-1 at room temperature, which facilitates efficient ion transport and enhances their performance in energy storage systems. High-temperature superconducting ceramics, particularly second-generation REBa2Cu3Oy (RE: Y, Gd, Sm etc.,) coated conductors, can achieve critical current densities on the order of ~ 10⁵–10⁶ A·cm⁻² at the relatively inexpensive liquid-nitrogen temperature of 77.3 K, making them highly promising for efficient power transmission in green energy applications. Emerging applications and their development are also discussed; moreover, this offers a perspective on how these materials can be strategically implemented to maximize their environmental impact.