  The search for a new energy paradigm with net-zero carbon emissions requires
new technologies for energy generation and storage that are at the crossroad
between engineering, chemistry, physics, surface and materials sciences. To
keep pushing the inherent boundaries of device performance and lifetime, we
need to step away from a cook-and-look approach and aim to establish the
scientific ground to guide the design of new materials. This requires strong
efforts in establishing bridges between microscopy and spectroscopy techniques,
across multiple scales. Here, we discuss how the complementarities of X-ray-
and electron-based spectroscopies and atom probe tomography can be exploited in
the study of surfaces and sub-surfaces to understand structure-property
relationships in electrocatalysts.
