Process Design and Modeling of Low-Carbon Energy Systems

This reprint addresses the urgent global challenge of decarbonizing energy systems while ensuring reliability, affordability, and sustainability. Curating 14 interdisciplinary studies, it bridges engineering, economics, and policy to advance renewable integration, carbon market mechanisms, energy storage, and socio-technical solutions. Key innovations include AI-driven prediction models like the IAO-LSTM for solar forecasting and the VMD-AOA-GRU hybrid model for wind power optimization, alongside robust dispatch frameworks leveraging pumped hydro storage and reinforcement learning. The issue also explores carbon-internalized thermoeconomic models, resilient multi-energy network planning, and nanomaterials such as nanoporous alumina sheets for anti-frosting applications. Contributions emphasize cross-sector integration (electricity–hydrogen–thermal networks), scalable technology deployment, and adaptive policy frameworks to align with sustainability goals. By synthesizing cutting-edge research, this collection provides actionable insights for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers, highlighting pathways to overcome technical, economic, and regulatory barriers in the energy transition. Future directions call for deeper system coupling, industrial scalability of lab innovations, and equitable policy design to accelerate global decarbonization efforts.