Energy Systems and Applications in Agricultural and Mechanical Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation from our previous Special Issue “Energy Systems and Applications in Agriculture”, which was successfully closed in June 2022. In this special issue, we wish to attract publications focused on energy-related systems, materials, and applications, which are emerging in agricultural and mechanical engineering fields. Energy has become the most crucial requirement for the development of any nation. It is directly linked to the quality of human life and thereby to the 2030 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SGDs). Primary energy is either expensive or not available sufficiently at least in the developing countries. In this regard, scientists and researchers are working worldwide for the development of state-of-the-art energy-related systems and materials for agricultural and industrial applications.

Agriculture, as a production-oriented sector, entails energy as a substantial input by which global food security is ensured. Agricultural systems use energy as fuel or electricity for farm machinery and equipment; HVAC and built environment; and food preservation and transportation. Similarly, industrialization is involved in various kind of energy systems and materials. Increasing agricultural mechanization and mechanical industrialization mitigate conventional energy reserves, which also escalates greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and climate change. Therefore, it is important to develop energy-efficient and environment-friendly energy systems and materials for agricultural and industrial applications to achieve the UN-SGDs.

This special issue is aimed to showcase recent advancements and improvements of such energy systems and their technologies for various applications accordingly. This special issue will consider cutting-edge research works and review articles focus on energy system design; advance energy materials; integration of renewable energy; automation and control; modelling and simulation; life cycle assessment of energy systems and applications; alternate/sustainable energy sources; emerging production systems; agricultural and mechanical practices/applications. In this regard, the special issue includes (but not limited) to the research theme mentioned in the following keywords:

• Agricultural built environment
• Biomass, biogas, and bioenergy
• Computational methods and AI in energy systems
• Emerging air-conditioning systems
• Energy efficiency and management
• Energy-efficient agriculture
• High efficiency irrigation systems
• Hybrid energy systems
• Integrated energy systems and applications
• Life cycle assessment of energy systems
• Low-energy sowing and seedbed preparation
• Low-energy spraying and harvesting
• Materials and manufacturing in energy systems
• Next-generation greenhouses
• Post-harvest/food processing/storage
• Robotics and farm mechanization
• Solar dryers and solar water pumping
• Sustainable energy and clean fuel
• Temperature and humidity control systems
• Thermal management and efficiency
• Water/wastewater treatment and energy

Dr. Muhammad Sultan
Dr. Yong-Qiang Feng
Dr. Muhammad Wakil Shahzad
Dr. Uzair Sajjad
Dr. Fiaz Ahmed
Dr. Muhammad Hamid Mahmood
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.