This book describes the combined efforts by experimental material scientists, computational scientists, and advanced measurement scientists to understand the structure and processes at solid–liquid and solid–solid interfaces. That cooperation led to the development of efficient energy-conversion processes and devices in solar energy-based systems such as secondary batteries, solar cells, and fuel cells. The development was the result of 10 years of research in the Global Research Center for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials Science (GREEN) in the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. The cooperating scientists’ work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) project “Development of Environmental Technology Using Nanotechnology”. 

 Kohei Uosaki received his Ph.D. from Flinders University of South Australia in 1977. He is currently Principal Fellow of the Center for Research and Development Strategy (CRDS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Emeritus Fellow of the National Institute for Materials Science and Professor Emeritus of Hokkaido University, where he taught for 30 years in the Department of Chemistry. His research interests include surface physical chemistry, electrochemical surface science, and electrochemical energy conversion. He is the author of the books Fundamental Electrochemistry (in Japanese), Molecular Nanodynamics, and Electrochemical Science for a Sustainable Society: A Tribute to John O’M. Bockris. In addition, he has published more than 450 original papers in internationally renowned journals such as Nature, Science, Journal of American Chemical Society, and Angewandte Chemie, and he has contributed to more than 50 books. The awards and honors he has received include the Chemical Society of Japan Award, the Society Award of the Surface Science Society of Japan, and the Distinguished Alumni Award and the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Flinders University. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry,  the International Society of Electrochemistry, the Electrochemical Society, and the Chemical Society of Japan. He has served as associate editor of the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan and regional editor, Asia-Pacific, of Electrochemistry Communications, where he is an editorial board member. He has also served as an editorial board member of the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and a member of the International Advisory Editorial Board of Physical Chemistry and Chemical Physics. He was Director of GREEN (2013-2018) and Program Officer of a MEXT project on “Specially Promoted Research on Innovative Next-Generation Batteries, Advanced Low-Carbon Technology” R & D Program (ALCA-SPRING) (2013-2022), and is now leading Green Technology Excellence (GteX) and ALCA-Next projects supported by MEXT/JST as Program Director since 2023. 

 Kazutaka Mitsuishi received his Ph.D. from the Tokyo University of Science in 1996. His research interests include electron microscopy, electron diffraction-related techniques, and characterization of all-solid Li ion batteries. He is currently a group leader of the In-situ Characterization Technique Development Group at the National Institute for Materials Science. He is the author of chapters of the books Nanofabrication: Fundamentals and Applications, Nanofabrication Using Focused Ion and Electron Beams, and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy of Nanomaterials: Basics of Imaging and Analysis, and he has published more than 230 original papers in internationally renowned journals such as Science, Physical Review Letters, and Applied Physics Letters. He received an Incentive Award from the Japanese Society of Microscopy and has served as an editorial board member of Microscopy.