Announcements

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the subject areas of “Environmental & Earth Sciences”, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Geosciences:

• “Distinguishing between Deep-Water Sediment Facies: Turbidites, Contourites and Hemipelagites”
  by Dorrik Stow and Zeinab Smillie
  Geosciences 2020, 10(2), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10020068
• “Review of Explosive Hydrovolcanism”
  by Károly Németh and Szabolcs Kósiks
  Geosciences 2020, 10(2), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10020044

Remote Sensing:

• “A Review on Deep Learning Techniques for 3D Sensed Data Classification”
  by David Griffiths and Jan Boehm
  Remote Sens. 2019, 11(12), 1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11121499
• “Satellite Remote Sensing of Precipitation and the Terrestrial Water Cycle in a Changing Climate”
  by Vincenzo Levizzani and Elsa Cattani
  Remote Sens. 2019, 11(19), 2301. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11192301
• “Evaluation of Different Machine Learning Methods and Deep-Learning Convolutional Neural Networks for Landslide Detection”
  by Omid Ghorbanzadeh, Thomas Blaschke, Khalil Gholamnia, Sansar Raj Meena, Dirk Tiede and Jagannath Aryal
  Remote Sens. 2019, 11(2), 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11020196
• “An Integrated View of Greenland Ice Sheet Mass Changes Based on Models and Satellite Observations”
  by Ruth Mottram, Sebastian B. Simonsen, Synne Høyer Svendsen, Valentina R. Barletta, Louise Sandberg Sørensen, Thomas Nagler, Jan Wuite, Andreas Groh, Martin Horwath, Job Rosier, Anne Solgaard, Christine S. Hvidberg and Rene Forsberg
  Remote Sens. 2019, 11(12), 1407. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11121407
• “UAV-Based High Resolution Thermal Imaging for Vegetation Monitoring, and Plant Phenotyping Using ICI 8640 P, FLIR Vue Pro R 640, and thermoMap Cameras”
  by Vasit Sagan, Maitiniyazi Maimaitijiang, Paheding Sidike, Kevin Eblimit, Kyle T. Peterson, Sean Hartling, Flavio Esposito, Kapil Khanal, Maria Newcomb, Duke Pauli, Rick Ward, Felix Fritschi, Nadia Shakoor and Todd Mockler
  Remote Sens. 2019, 11(3), 330. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11030330

Toxics:

• “A Review of Biomonitoring of Phthalate Exposures”
  by Wang, Yu, Hongkai Zhu and Kurunthachalam Kannan
  Toxics 2019, 7(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics7020021
• “Trace Element Uptake by Herbaceous Plants from the Soils at a Multiple Trace Element-Contaminated Site”
  by Nworie, Obinna E., Junhao Qin and Chuxia Lin
  Toxics 2019, 7(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics7010003

Water:

• “Water Quality Indices: Challenges and Application Limits in the Literature”
  by Moez Kachroud, Fabienne Trolard, Mohamed Kefi, Sihem Jebari and Guilhem Bourrié
  Water 2019, 11(2), 361. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020361
• “A Brief Review of Random Forests for Water Scientists and Practitioners and Their Recent History in Water Resources”
  by Hristos Tyralis, Georgia Papacharalampous and Andreas Langousis
  Water 2019, 11(5), 910. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11050910
• “The Use of Non-Conventional Water Resources as a Means of Adaptation to Drought and Climate Change in Semi-Arid Regions: South-Eastern Spain”
  by Álvaro-Francisco Morote, Jorge Olcina and María Hernández
  Water 2019, 11(1), 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010093
• “Hydrological Effectiveness of an Extensive Green Roof in Mediterranean Climate” 
  by Stefania Anna Palermo, Michele Turco, Francesca Principato and Patrizia Piro
  Water 2019, 11(7), 1378. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071378
• “Forecasting Groundwater Table in a Flood Prone Coastal City with Long Short-term Memory and Recurrent Neural Networks”
  by Benjamin D. Bowes, Jeffrey M. Sadler, Mohamed M. Morsy, Madhur Behl and Jonathan L. Goodall
  Water 2019, 11(5), 1098. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11051098
• “Effectiveness of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for Flood Reduction in Residential Urban Areas”
  by Gabriele Frenib and Lorena Liuzzo
  Water 2019, 11(7), 1389. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071389

We are pleased to announce that the 2021 CiteScore (Scopus) of Energies (ISSN: 1996-1073) has been released! Our CiteScore has increased from 4.7 to 5.0, ranking the journal:

• 19/115 (Q1) in the “Engineering (miscellaneous)” category;
• 18/118 (Q1) in the “Control and Optimization” category;
• 10/34 (Q2) in the “Energy (miscellaneous)” category.

In addition, Energies is now included in the new category “Building and Construction”, where it ranks 51/211 (Q1).

More details can be seen at the following link: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/62932.

Energies Editorial Office

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

We are pleased to inform you that the open access journal Energies (ISSN 1996-1073; IF: 3.004) has been indexed in the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR): Area 08 / Class A—Sector 08/C1, Sector 08/D1, Sector 08/E1 and Sector 08/F1.

Energies is a peer-reviewed, open access journal containing related scientific research, technology development, engineering, and studies pertaining to policy and management, and is published semimonthly online by MDPI.

We warmly welcome you to consider Energies as the platform for publishing your work.

It is our honor to congratulate the authors of the articles below, which have been marked as “Hot Papers” according to the Web of Science data. You are all welcome to read the articles and forward this news to your colleagues.

1. “Revisiting the Role of Fiscal Policy, Financial Development, and Foreign Direct Investment in Reducing Environmental Pollution during Globalization Mode: Evidence from Linear and Nonlinear Panel Data Approaches”
by Kamal, M.; Usman, M.; Jahanger, A.; Balsalobre-Lorente, D.
Energies 2021, 14, 6968. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14216968.

2. “The Impact of Globalization, Energy Use, and Trade on Ecological Footprint in Pakistan: Does Environmental Sustainability Exist?”
by Rehman, A.; Radulescu, M.; Ma, H.; Dagar, V.; Hussain, I.; Khan, M.K.
Energies 2021, 14, 5234. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14175234.

3. “Performance Comparison and Current Challenges of Using Machine Learning Techniques in Cybersecurity”
by Shaukat, K.; Luo, S.; Varadharajan, V.; Hameed, I.A.; Chen, S.; Liu, D.; Li, J.
Energies 2020, 13, 2509. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13102509.

4. “Do Perceived Risk, Perception of Self-Efficacy, and Openness to Technology Matter for Solar PV Adoption? An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior”
by Tanveer, A.; Zeng, S.; Irfan, M.; Peng, R.
Energies 2021, 14, 5008. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14165008.

5. “Techno-Economic Planning and Operation of the Microgrid Considering Real-Time Pricing Demand Response Program”
by Yu, Z.-X.; Li, M.-S.; Xu, Y.-P.; Aslam, S.; Li, Y.-K.
Energies 2021, 14, 4597. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14154597.

Energies Editorial Office

In 2021, we received 15,603 new submissions, with an annual growth of 10.3%, and published 8626 papers, an increase of 28.23%. The median processing time (from submission to publication online) was 40 days in 2021. A total of 412 new Editorial Board Members have joined us, and the number of Editorial Board Members increased to 1829. A total of 928 Topical Advisory Panels and 506 Reviewer Board Members also newly joined. We now have 18,542 subscribers in total. In 2021, we received a new Impact Factor of 3.004 (2020) and Scopus CiteScore of 4.7.

Energies has been expanding its scope with eleven new Sections: “Electrical Power System”; “Distributed Energy System”; “Power Electronics”; “High Voltage”; “Carbon Emission and Utilization”; “Heat and Mass Transfer”; “Thermodynamics”; “Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage”; “Petroleum Engineering”; “Geothermal” and “Fossil”, and has now published in twenty-seven topical sections. The journal will continue to attract more authors from all over the world who appreciate its very efficient peer-review and publishing processes.

High Altimetric Papers

• Section “I: Energy Economics and Policy”:

An Economically Viable 100% Renewable Energy System for All Energy Sectors of Germany in 2030

Dr. Thure Traber et al.

• Section “A8: Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy”:

It Is Still Possible to Achieve the Paris Climate Agreement: Regional, Sectoral, and Land-Use Pathways

Dr. Sven Teske et al.

• Section “B: Sustainable Energy”:

Technology for the Recovery of Lithium from Geothermal Brines

Dr. William T. Stringfellow et al.

• Section “I: Energy Economics and Policy”:

Confronting Energy Poverty in Europe: A Research and Policy Agenda

Prof. Dr. Stefan Bouzarovski et al.

Collections/Special Issues

Energies runs Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics. The aim is to build a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors who are experts in the subject and oversee the editorial process for papers. Papers published in a Special Issue will be collected on a dedicated page of the journal website.

Hot Special Issues

• “Management and Technology for Energy Efficiency Development”;
• “Assessment of Photovoltaic-Battery Systems”;
• “Energy Supply within Sustainable Agricultural Production: Challenges, Policies and Mechanisms”;
• “Energy Policy for a Sustainable Economic Growth”.

Open Calls

• Topical Collection “Feature Papers in Smart Grids and Microgrids”
  edited by Prof. Dr. José Matas, Prof. Dr. Saeed Golestan and Prof. Dr. Helena Martin
• Topical Collection “Featured Papers in Electrical Power and Energy System”
  edited by Prof. Dr. Nicu Bizon, Dr. Mihai Oproescu, Prof. Dr. Philippe Poure, Prof. Dr. Rocío Pérez de Prado, and Dr. Abdessattar Abdelkefi
• Topical Collection “Feature Papers in Bio-Energy”
  edited by Prof. Dr. Fernando Rubiera González and Dr. Covadonga Pevida García

Read the full list of open calls here: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies/special_issues.

Recruiting

• Topical Advisory Panel Member;
• Editorial Board Members;
• Reviewer Board Members.

On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to express our gratitude to the Editor-in-Chief of Energies, all Associate Editor-in-Chief, all Section Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Board Members, as well as to the Guest Editors of Special Issues, Topical Advisory Panel Members, and Reviewer Board Members, all of whom have ensured the continued success of the journal through their hard work and diligence. In 2022, Energies will continue to contribute to academic exchange and the sharing of knowledge.

1. “Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles—A Brief Review of Current Topologies and Energy Management Strategies”
Ioan-Sorin Sorlei et al.
Energies 2021, 14(1), 252; 10.3390/en14010252
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/1/252

2. “Critical Review of Flywheel Energy Storage System”
Abdul Ghani Olabi et al.
Energies 2021, 14(8), 2159; 10.3390/en14082159
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/8/2159

3. “Methane Cracking for Hydrogen Production: A Review of Catalytic and Molten Media Pyrolysis”
Malek Msheik et al.
Energies 2021, 14(11), 3107; 10.3390/en14113107
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/11/3107

4. “Impact of COVID19 on Operational Activities of Manufacturing Organizations—A Case Study and Industry 4.0-Based Survive-Stabilise-Sustainability (3S) Framework”
Mutahhar A. Dar et al.
Energies 2021, 14(7), 1900; 10.3390/en14071900
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/7/1900

5. “Energy Sector Risk and Cost of Capital Assessment—Companies and Investors Perspective”
Justyna Franc-Dąbrowska et al.
Energies 2021, 14(6), 1613; 10.3390/en14061613
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/6/1613

6. “Refrigeration of COVID-19 Vaccines: Ideal Storage Characteristics, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Impacts of Various Vaccine Options”
Alexandre F. Santos et al.
Energies 2021, 14(7), 1849; 10.3390/en14071849
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/7/1849

7. “Cryptocurrency Mining from an Economic and Environmental Perspective. Analysis of the Most and Least Sustainable Countries”
Sergio Luis Náñez Alonso et al.
Energies 2021, 14(14), 4254; 10.3390/en14144254
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4254

8. “End of Electric Vehicle Batteries: Reuse vs. Recycle”
Yash Kotak et al.
Energies 2021, 14(8), 2217; 10.3390/en14082217
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/8/2217

9. “Tourism in the Era of Covid-19 and Its Impact on the Environment”
Rafał Nagaj et al.
Energies 2021, 14(7), 2000; 10.3390/en14072000
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/7/2000

10. “A Theoretical Framework for Industry 4.0 and Its Implementation with Selected Practical Schedules”
Bożena Gajdzik et al.
Energies 2021, 14(4), 940; 10.3390/en14040940
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/940

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Energies (ISSN 1996-1073) is recruiting Editorial Board Members for the following eleven new sections:

• Electrical Power System;
• Distributed Energy System;
• Power Electronics;
• High Voltage;
• Carbon Emission and Utilization;
• Heat and Mass Transfer;
• Thermodynamics;
• Phase Change Materials for Energy Storage;
• Petroleum Engineering;
• Geothermal;
• Fossil.

We are currently recruiting Editorial Board Members (EBMs) for the above mentioned sections. If you are interested in this position or if you could recommend potential candidates, please contact Ms. Estelle Chen (estelle.chen@mdpi.com).

Energies is an open access journal of scientific research, technology development, engineering policy, and management studies related to the general field of energy supply, conversion, dispatch, and final use. It achieved a 2020 Journal Impact Factor of 3.004 and the CiteScore is 4.7. The website of Energies can be accessed here. Alternatively, you may wish to submit your work directly via the entrance here.

As an Editorial Board Member, you would have the following responsibilities:

• Making decisions on whether a manuscript can be accepted or not, based on the reports we collect;
• Editing a Special Issue on a topic related to your research interests when it is convenient for you;
• Promoting Energies and increasing its visibility at related academic conferences.

To apply or request further information, please contact Ms. Estelle Chen (estelle.chen@mdpi.com). We look forward to hearing from you soon.