Energy conversion and storage is more and more important nowadays. Organic solar cells, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and rechargeable lithium batteries are three key electrochemical systems that can meet these demands. Two thin-film techniques, i.e. electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have been extensively and successfully used for the deposition of ceramic thin films for lithium batteries, organic solar cells, and SOFCs. A large variety of layer morphologies including unique structures have been obtained by ESD and CVD. Both the working principles of the three energy-related electrochemical systems and the basics of ESD and CVD are reviewed in this paper. Experimental results are selectively presented as well.