Smart Energy Management and Industrial Decarbonization: Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, and Sustainable Energy Transition
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "F5: Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 November 2026 | Viewed by 26
Special Issue Editors
Interests: energy transition and decarbonization; Industry 4.0 and digital transformation; corporate sustainability and ESG performance; sustainability and circular economy strategies; smart manufacturing and digital supply chains; application of AI and machine learning in industrial management
Interests: lean management and operational excellence; energy management and efficiency in industrial systems; integration of Industry 4.0 technologies (IoT, AI) in production; circular economy and sustainable business models; implementation of quality and environmental standards (ISO 14001, ISO 50001); supply-chain sustainability and strategic management
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Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transition towards a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy is accelerating under international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal. In this context, industrial companies are increasingly required to reduce energy consumption, optimize resource use, and accelerate decarbonization while maintaining productivity, quality, and competitiveness. Artificial intelligence, data-driven energy management, Industry 4.0 technologies, and lean practices offer new opportunities to monitor energy performance, predict inefficiencies, support decision-making, and improve operational excellence across industrial systems.
Standards and regulatory frameworks play a key role in guiding organizations through this transformation. These frameworks support the integration of circularity into management systems, operational processes, and decision-making structures. In parallel, organizations must redesign processes and procedures, incorporate life-cycle thinking, and ensure alignment with quality management practices in order to achieve consistent and measurable outcomes. The transition also involves optimizing the use of materials, energy, and water, as well as fostering collaboration across industrial ecosystems.
This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate recent advances in AI-driven energy management, industrial decarbonization, and lean practices for the energy transition. We welcome conceptual, methodological, and empirical contributions that examine how organizations integrate artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, smart manufacturing, circular economy strategies, and operational excellence into their processes, procedures, and management systems.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:
- AI-driven energy management in industrial systems;
- Industrial decarbonization strategies and energy efficiency practices;
- Lean management and operational excellence for the energy transition;
- Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, IoT, and digital transformation in energy-intensive sectors;
- Predictive analytics, machine learning, and decision support systems for energy optimization;
- Circular economy strategies and resource efficiency practices;
- Integration of quality, environmental, and energy management systems;
- Case studies demonstrating measurable improvements in energy, environmental, or sustainability performance.
By highlighting interdisciplinary approaches that connect artificial intelligence, energy management, lean practices, sustainability, and industrial operations, this Special Issue aims to provide practitioners, researchers, and policymakers with actionable insights into how digital and organizational innovations can accelerate the transition towards more sustainable, efficient, and resilient industrial systems.
Prof. Dr. Naiara Uriarte-Gallastegi
Prof. Dr. German Arana-Landin
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- artificial intelligence
- energy management
- industrial decarbonization
- lean manufacturing
- Industry 4.0
- predictive analytics
- circular economy
- sustainability
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