Announcements

MDPI is honored to announce the recipients of the 2025 Best Paper Awards, celebrating exceptional research for its scientific merit and broad impact. After a rigorous evaluation process conducted by Academic Editors, this year’s awards showcase papers that stand out for their innovation, relevance, and high-quality presentation.

Out of a highly competitive pool, 396 winning papers have been recognized for their exceptional contributions. We congratulate these authors for pushing the boundaries of their respective disciplines.

At MDPI, we are dedicated to broadening the reach of innovative science. To learn more about the award-winning papers and explore research projects in your field of study, please visit the following links:

• Biology and Life Sciences;
• Business and Economics;
• Chemistry and Materials Sciences;
• Computer Sciences and Mathematics;
• Engineering;
• Environmental and Earth Sciences;
• Medicine and Pharmacology;
• Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities;
• Physical Sciences;
• Public Health and Healthcare.

About MDPI Awards:

To reward the global research community and enhance academic dialogue, MDPI journals regularly host award programs across diverse scientific disciplines. These awards, serving as a source of inspiration and recognition, help raise the influence of talented individuals who have been credited with outstanding achievements and whose work drives the advancement of their fields.

Explore the Best Paper Awards open for participation, please click here.

1. “Advancements and Challenges in Direct Air Capture Technologies: Energy Intensity, Novel Methods, Economics, and Location Strategies”
by Janusz Kotowicz, Kamil Niesporek and Oliwia Baszczeńska
Energies 2025, 18(3), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030496
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3147324
Citations: 24

2. “The Role of Lightweight AI Models in Supporting a Sustainable Transition to Renewable Energy: A Systematic Review”
by Tymoteusz Miller, Irmina Durlik, Ewelina Kostecka, Polina Kozlovska, Marek Staude and Sylwia Sokołowska
Energies 2025, 18(5), 1192; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051192
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3204822
Citations: 23

3. “Industry 5.0 and Human-Centered Energy System: A Comprehensive Review with Socio-Economic Viewpoints”
by Jin-Li Hu, Yang Li and Jung-Chi Chew
Energies 2025, 18(9), 2345; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18092345
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3297844
Citations: 16

4. “A Review of the Development of the Energy Storage Industry in China: Challenges and Opportunities”
by Feng Wang and Yongxuan Xue
Energies 2025, 18(6), 1512; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18061512
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3230556
Citations: 16

5. “Economic Drivers of Renewable Energy Growth in the European Union: Evidence from a Panel Data Analysis (2015–2023)”
by László Török
Energies 2025, 18(13), 3363; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18133363
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3376680
Citations: 12

6. “How Does the Interplay Between Banking Performance, Digitalization, and Renewable Energy Consumption Shape Sustainable Development in European Union Countries?”
by Alina Georgiana Manta, Claudia Gherțescu, Roxana Maria Bădîrcea, Liviu Florin Manta, Jenica Popescu and Cătălin Valentin Mihai Lăpădat
Energies 2025, 18(3), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030571
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3154014
Citations: 13

7. “Load Shifting and Demand-Side Management in Renewable Energy Communities: Simulations of Different Technological Configurations”
by Antonino Rollo, Paolo Serafini, Federico Aleotti, Debora Cilio, Enrico Morandini, Diana Moneta, Marco Rossi, Matteo Zulianello and Valerio Angelucci
Energies 2025, 18(4), 872; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040872
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3179228
Citations: 11

8. “Energy Management Strategy for Direct Current Microgrids with Consideration of Photovoltaic Power Tracking Optimization”
by Fudong Li, Zonghao Shi, Zhihao Zhu and Yongjun Gan
Energies 2025, 18(2), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18020252
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3125468
Citations: 8

9. “Robust Co-Optimization of Medium- and Short-Term Electrical Energy and Flexibility in Electricity Clusters”
by Mariusz Kaleta
Energies 2025, 18(3), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030479
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3146210
Citations: 9

10. “Assessing Renewable Energy Growth in the European Union”
by Romualdas Ginevičius, Gracjana Noga, Vladislavas Petraškevičius, Eigirdas Žemaitis and Miloslav Novotný
Energies 2025, 18(7), 1688; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18071688
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/3244848
Citations: 8

As Editor-in-Chief of Energies (ISSN: 1996-1073), I am pleased to announce the winners of the Energies 2026 Travel Award: Dr. Jinhao Bai, a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, and Ms. Francesca Vecchi, a PhD student at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy.

As the awardees, they will each receive an honorarium of CHF 800, financial support to attend an international conference held in 2026 in the field of energy and related research, and an electronic certificate.

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were challenging. We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting a diverse and fascinating range of research topics. On behalf of the assessment committee, I congratulate the winners on their accomplishments.

Prof. Dr. Enrico Sciubba
Editor-in-Chief of Energies

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Energies 2025 Young Investigator Award, established to acknowledge the achievements of young investigators in all aspects of energy research. After a rigorous evaluation process, two winners have been selected.

Please join us in congratulating the following winners:

• Najmeh Bazmohammadi, Aalborg University, Denmark;
• Guobin Zhang, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China.

Prize:

• CHF 2000;
• An electronic certificate;
• A voucher to waive the Article Processing Charge (APC) for one submission to the journal (subject to peer review)—valid for one year.

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were challenging. We would like to thank all of the nominators for their participation and the Award Committee Members for their careful evaluation of the many outstanding nominees.

We warmly congratulate the award recipients and wish them continued success in their research careers.

Energies Editorial Office

We are honored to announce that Prof. Dr. William Gerwick will serve as the Chair of the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee.

A world-renowned authority in marine natural products chemistry and pharmacology, Professor Gerwick is a Distinguished Professor at both the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). His pioneering work at the intersection of ocean sciences and drug discovery makes him a fitting leader for an award centered on transformative medicinal breakthroughs.

Under Professor Gerwick’s stewardship, the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee will focus on recognizing innovative and impactful research in natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry, particularly work with the potential to drive meaningful advances in both scientific understanding and human health.

To provide further insight into his perspectives, we include below an interview with Professor Gerwick, in which he reflects on his scientific journey, his views on the field, and his vision for the Tu Youyou Award.

A Conversation with the Chair

1. Could you please introduce yourself and your research journey?

My research focuses on the natural products of marine algae and cyanobacteria, their application in medicine, their biosynthesis using genomic approaches, and innovative methods in the structure elucidation of natural products.

I received my BS degree from the University of California at Davis, my PhD from the University of California at San Diego, and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Connecticut. After a couple of years in a junior faculty position at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, I spent 21 years as Professor of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. In 2005, I returned to my PhD institution at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego, where I am currently a Distinguished Professor of Oceanography and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to advancing the field through both leadership and mentorship. I have served as president of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, chaired and co-chaired several major research conferences, and served as an associate editor for the Journal of Natural Products. I am a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. I have trained over 100 doctoral and postdoctoral students, and my research group has published nearly 500 papers and more than 25 patents on topics in the natural product sciences and medicinal chemistry.

2. What motivated you to accept the role of Chair of the 2026 Tu Youyou Award Committee?

Of course, I am a huge supporter of all awards that are given in recognition of excellent scientific research, and especially so in the natural products sciences and medicinal chemistry. However, this award is truly special in that it recognizes scientific excellence as well as impact, and is given in the name of an individual, Tu Youyou, who clearly had many challenges along the path to reach the pinnacle of her success. Not only was she the first Chinese person to win a Nobel prize in this area, but she was also the first Chinese woman to receive a Nobel prize, and this was achieved without graduate education in China or elsewhere. It’s a true testament to what can be achieved by hard work, determination, and vision. To read the history of her extraordinary approach to discovering novel antimalarial compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine is truly inspirational. It is, therefore, the inspiration provided by the extraordinary life and career of Tu Youyou that motivated me to accept the Chair of the Award Committee for 2026.

3. How do you view the role of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry in today’s scientific landscape, and what major advances over the past decade have shaped this field?

A quite remarkable integration of fields is currently transforming natural products science and medicinal chemistry. In natural products, we are seeing integration of different omics methods, from metabolites to proteins to nucleic acids. Sophisticated biological and pharmacological approaches are driving the discovery of exquisitely potent and selective natural products. Advances are being made to integrate molecular-level recognition of natural products with chemical ecological studies, and sophisticated methods of structure determination using Artificial Intelligence or pioneering new tools such as microED are being applied with increasing frequency. High-level synthetic methodologies, such as protecting group-free synthetic routes, are enhancing medicinal chemistry, accelerating the identification of lead molecules with attractive pharmaceutical properties at an increasing pace.

4. How do you consider the balance between fundamental discovery (e.g., new molecules or mechanisms) and practical impact (e.g., therapeutic applications)?

Many individuals are excellent scientists and mentors, and have essential roles in developing our culture that values science and the scientific method. It should also be pointed out that not all scientific discoveries are going to have a broad societal impact, but they are nevertheless critical to the overall body and structure of science. But it is a truly remarkable individual who makes a key scientific discovery, recognizes its potential value to society in general, and then has the skills and determination to bring it forward as a useful product. That was the type of person the Tu Youyou is, and that is the type of person who is honored by the prize in her name.

5. What do you see as the key challenges or opportunities currently facing the field?

We are on the crux of an amazing revolution in many of the sciences, including natural products and medicinal chemistry; the purposeful application of Artificial Intelligence to solving many of the difficulties involved in the search for new pharmaceuticals from Nature. AI is transforming how we select organisms for study, what pharmaceutical targets to go after, rapidly resolving the chemical structures of new compounds, identifying efficient routes to their chemical synthesis, understanding their molecular mechanisms of action, and finally, designing their clinical application. The role of people in these pursuits is changing. Increasingly, the human role will be providing overall vision: what can we do? What should we do? And it is important to remember that AI is providing hypotheses, not truth. Scientists with expert domain knowledge will be critical for discerning the correctness of hypotheses put forth by AI. Altogether, advances in technology, expanding knowledge, and the appropriate use of AI methods are preparing society to be able to address emerging diseases, such as pandemics, as well as conditions that are not effectively treated by currently existing therapeutics.

6. How do you expect the Tu Youyou Award to contribute to the advancement of natural product chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and human health over the coming years?

The Tu Youyou Award is potentially transformative for the broad fields of natural products science and medicinal chemistry as it brings a significantly increased level of visibility to these topics and their contributions to human health. It will be crucial to have excellent communication to news agencies, social media and other communication outlets so that the general public is informed and educated on the high impact of these natural product/medicinal chemistry contributions. This will bring increased funding, attract promising students, and generally enrich the interface of these fields with the health sector.

7. What message would you like to convey to the research community and the public during this open nomination phase?

This prize gives broad societal visibility to the role that natural products have had in shaping a majority of our current medicines, as well as understanding the life forms with whom we share the planet. Further, it recognizes a woman scientist working under sub-optimal conditions who could persevere and make discoveries of global impact. The prize and what it represents, therefore, inspires current and future generations to engage in the study of Nature and its relationship to Human Health, to overcome adversity, and to aspire to making one’s life impactful.

About the Tu Youyou Award

Established in 2016, the Tu Youyou Award seeks to honor those who excel in the fields of natural products chemistry and medicinal chemistry. This award offers a total prize of CHF 100,000, which will be equally divided among the winners if there is more than one, with each recipient receiving an award medal and a certificate.

The 2026 Tu Youyou Award is open for nominations until 31 October 2026. We encourage all eligible candidates to participate in this prestigious recognition, as this award not only honors individual achievement but also encourages further scientific exchange, exploration and discovery in critical areas of medicine.

If you are interested in participating, please visit the Tu Youyou Award website for more information on the nomination requirements.

Each year on 22 April, International Mother Earth Day brings together researchers, environmental leaders, and advocates from around the world to raise awareness and inspire action to protect our planet. In 2026, the theme “Our Power, Our Planet” highlights the urgent need for collective action and civic engagement to influence environmental policy, accelerate climate action, and drive meaningful change at both local and global levels.

MDPI supports this global observance by showcasing research that advances environmental science, sustainability, and Earth system studies. Through its journals, MDPI provides platforms for researchers and professionals to share scientific knowledge, foster collaboration, and promote innovations that contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.

Invited Speakers:

Feel free to register for this webinar here.

“Global Carbon Sequestration and the Roles of Tropical Forests and Crops: Prospects for Using Innovative Carbon Trading Approaches to Address the Climate Emergency”
by Denis J. Murphy and Shana Yong
Earth 2026, 7(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/earth7010022

“Intensification of SUHI During Extreme Heat Events: An Eight-Year Summer Analysis for Lecce (2018–2025)”
by Antonio Esposito, Riccardo Buccolieri, Jose Luis Santiago and Gianluca Pappaccogli
Climate 2026, 14(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli14010002

“The Application of Earth Observation Data to Desert Locust Risk Management: A Literature Review”
by Gachie Eliud Baraka, Guido D’Urso and Oscar Rosario Belfiore
Geomatics 2025, 5(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/geomatics5010014

“Energy Efficiency Analysis of Water Treatment Plants: Current Status and Future Trends”
by Iwona Skoczko
Energies 2025, 18(5), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051086

“Tracking Particulate Matter Accumulation on Green Roofs: A Study at Warsaw University Library”
by Katarzyna Gładysz, Mariola Wrochna and Robert Popek
Air 2025, 3(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/air3010004

“A Multi-Scale Analysis of the Extreme Precipitation in Southern Brazil in April/May 2024”
by Michelle Simões Reboita, Enrique Vieira Mattos, Bruno César Capucin, Diego Oliveira de Souza and Glauber Willian de Souza Ferreira
Atmosphere 2024, 15(9), 1123; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15091123

“Status of Concentrated Solar Power Plants Installed Worldwide: Past and Present Data”
by Sylvain Rodat and Richard Thonig
Clean Technol. 2024, 6(1), 365-378; https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol6010018

“Impacts of Climate Change and Agricultural Practices on Nitrogen Processes, Genes, and Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions: A Quantitative Review of Meta-Analyses”
by Dafeng Hui, Avedananda Ray, Lovish Kasrija and Jaekedah Christian
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020240

MDPI is pleased to announce the 14th Energies Webinar, entitled “Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Energy Optimization and Circular Solutions for Water, Nutrients, and Bioresources in the Mediterranean”. This webinar welcomes researchers and professionals interested in sustainable agri-food systems, particularly in the context of climate change, water scarcity, and soil degradation in the Mediterranean region. 

The Mediterranean agri-food sector faces increasing environmental challenges, highlighting the need for circular and resource-efficient solutions. This session will introduce the MedInCircle project, which aims to promote sustainability and resilience through the integrated management of water, nutrients, and bioresources across the agri-food chain. 

The invited speakers will present key results from the project, including advances in energy optimization and the development of circular solutions for nutrient and bioresource recovery. Topics will cover innovative technologies for wastewater treatment, organic waste valorization, and the use of bioreactors to recover bioresources for agricultural applications such as biofertilizers and biostimulants. 

Keywords: circular economy; nutrients; anaerobic digestion; bioresource recovery; Mediterranean; life cycle assessment 

Date: 23 April 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. CEST
Webinar ID: 815 2978 9475

Register now for free!

Program:

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to join. Please note that participants registering with academic institutional email addresses may be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will notify you when the recording becomes available.

Webinar Chair and Speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Giovanni Esposito, Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Italy;
• Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Hady, National Research Centre, Agricultural and Biological Research Institute, Water Relations and Field Irrigation Dept., Cairo, Egypt;
• Prof. Dr. Stefano Papirio, Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Italy;
• Dr. Alessandra Cesaro, Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, Italy.

Our portfolio of journals available for publishing up-to-date research in immediate open access format has been further expanded. In the first quarter of 2026, nine new journals released their inaugural issues and three transferred journals released their first issue as part of MDPI, covering the subjects of clinical medicine, chemistry, computer science & mathematics, engineering, environment & ecology, and social sciences & psychology.

We extend our gratitude to the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members who will shape the future course of these brand-new journals. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, ensuring impactful open access scholarship.

Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create a new journal, you are welcome to send an application here or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).

Welcome to the MDPI International Mother Earth Day Webinar 2026!

Each year, International Mother Earth Day brings together researchers, environmental leaders, and advocates from around the world to raise awareness and inspire action to protect our planet. In 2026, the theme “Our Power, Our Planet” highlights the urgent need for collective action and civic engagement to influence environmental policy, accelerate climate action, and drive meaningful change at both local and global levels.

In this webinar, leading experts will share insights from their research on key environmental challenges and sustainable solutions. The session will foster interdisciplinary dialogue, promote collaboration, and highlight how scientific research can contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future.

Date: 22 April 2026 at 12:00 p.m. CEST | 6:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 834 0870 6694
Website: https://sciforum.net/event/IMED2026

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations made with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.

Unable to attend? Register anyway, and we will let you know when the recording is available to watch online.

Register now for free!

Program:

 Webinar Chair and Speakers:

• Dr. Luxon Nhamo, Water Research Commission of South Africa, South Africa;
• Dr. Sylvia Vetter, University of Aberdeen, UK;
• Dr. Gianpaolo Tomaselli, University of Malta, Malta.

1. “Few-Shot Load Forecasting Under Data Scarcity in Smart Grids: A Meta-Learning Approach”
by Georgios Tsoumplekas, Christos Athanasiadis, Dimitrios I. Doukas, Antonios Chrysopoulos
and Pericles Mitkas
Energies 2025, 18(3), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030742
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/742
Citations: 12

2. “Enhancing Renewable Energy Integration and Implementing EV Charging Stations for Sustainable Electricity in Crete’s Supermarket Chain”
by Emmanuel Karapidakis, Marios Nikologiannis, Marini Markaki, Georgios Kouzoukas
and Sofia Yfanti
Energies 2025, 18(3), 754; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030754
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/754
Citations: 11

3. “Regulating AI in the Energy Sector: A Scoping Review of EU Laws, Challenges, and Global Perspectives”
by Bo Nørregaard Jørgensen and Zheng Grace Ma
Energies 2025, 18(9), 2359; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18092359
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2359
Citations: 11

4. “Benchmarking Transformer Variants for Hour-Ahead PV Forecasting: PatchTST with Adaptive Conformal Inference”
by Vishnu Suresh
Energies 2025, 18(18), 5000; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18185000
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/18/5000
Citations: 9

5. “Research and Comparative Analysis of Energy Management Strategies for Hybrid Electric Vehicles: A Review”
by Fan Wang, Yina Hong and Xiaohuan Zhao
Energies 2025, 18(11), 2873; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18112873
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/11/2873
Citations: 8

6. “TSMixer- and Transfer Learning-Based Highly Reliable Prediction with Short-Term Time Series Data in Small-Scale Solar Power Generation Systems”
by Younjeong Lee and Jongpil Jeong
Energies 2025, 18(4), 765; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040765
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/4/765
Citations: 6

7. “Adaptive Hosting Capacity Forecasting in Distribution Networks with Distributed Energy Resources”
by Md Tariqul Islam, M. Jahangir Hossain, Md. Ahasan Habib and Muhammad Ahsan Zamee
Energies 2025, 18(2), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18020263
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/263
Citations: 6

8. “Effective and Local Constraint-Aware Load Shifting for Microgrid-Based Energy Communities”
by Dimitra G. Kyriakou, Fotios D. Kanellos, George J. Tsekouras and Konstantinos A. Moungos
Energies 2025, 18(2), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18020343
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/343
Citations: 5

9. “A Thematic Review of AI and ML in Sustainable Energy Policies for Developing Nations”
by Hassan Qudrat-Ullah
Energies 2025, 18(9), 2239; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18092239
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/9/2239
Citations: 5

10. “Comparative Analysis of Hybrid Deep Learning Models for Electricity Load Forecasting During Extreme Weather”
by Altan Unlu and Malaquias Peña
Energies 2025, 18(12), 3068; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18123068
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/12/3068
Citations: 5