Next-Generation Energy Conversion Systems: Advanced Design, Optimization and Intelligent Control of Electrical Machines and Drives

Dear Colleagues,

The global transition toward electrification and sustainable energy systems is rapidly reshaping transportation, power generation and industrial infrastructures. Electrified transportation platforms and renewable energy generation systems are becoming central to improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. At the heart of these systems lie advanced electrical machines, power electronic drives and integrated electrical energy architectures that must meet increasingly stringent performance, reliability and efficiency requirements.

The design and optimization of electrical machines and drive systems have evolved into highly interdisciplinary research domains that integrate multi-physics design, power electronics, advanced control, materials engineering and system-level optimization. For electrified transportation, including electric vehicles, electric aircraft and marine propulsion, machine and drive systems must deliver high torque density, wide-speed operation, high efficiency and fault-tolerant performance under constrained size, weight and cost conditions. Meanwhile, renewable energy generation systems such as wind, tidal and distributed solar generation require optimized energy conversion and drive systems capable of reliable operation under variable and often harsh environmental conditions, while maintaining a high conversion efficiency, robustness and grid compatibility.

To address these challenges, innovative design methodologies and optimization strategies are essential across both component and system levels. Emerging approaches include multi-objective and multi-physics optimization of electrical machines, data-driven and AI-assisted design techniques, advanced thermal and mechanical co-design and integrated optimization of machines with power electronic converters and energy storage systems. The growing convergence of electrical machines, power electronics and energy systems also calls for holistic system-level design frameworks that consider efficiency, reliability and operational flexibility simultaneously.

On the control and system integration side, advanced control strategies, including predictive control, fault-tolerant control, digital twin-based monitoring and intelligent energy management, are enabling higher levels of performance and resilience in electrified propulsion and renewable energy conversion systems. Furthermore, the integration of electrical machines with smart grids, microgrids and hybrid energy systems presents new opportunities for coordinated design and optimization across generation, storage and utilization stages.

This Special Issue aims to provide a dedicated platform for researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to share recent advances and emerging trends in the design, optimization and integration of electrical machines, drive systems and energy conversion technologies for electrified transportation and renewable energy applications. Contributions are invited that explore innovative design concepts, advanced modelling and optimization techniques, novel machine topologies, integrated machine–drive–energy system architectures and intelligent control and management strategies that enable high-efficiency, high-reliability and sustainable energy conversion.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to the following:

1. High torque/power density machine design and analysis
2. Reliability-aware design and control of electrical drive system for renewable energy generation and electrical propulsion
3. System-level machine modelling, optimization and design for electrified transportation and renewable energy conversion
4. Circularity and lifecycle-oriented design and optimization of electrical drive systems
5. AI-assisted and data-driven design of electrical machines
6. Parameter identification and modelling of electrical drive systems
7. Condition monitoring and health assessment of electrical machines and power-electronic converters
8. Advanced sensorless drive techniques for high-reliability energy conversions in electrified transportation

Dr. Yang Xiao
Dr. Peng Wang
Dr. Yang Li
Dr. Yiming Shen
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.

• electrified transportation
• renewable energy conversion
• multi-physics design optimization
• fault-tolerant control and reliability
• AI-assisted and data-driven design
• integrated machine–drive systems

• Electrical Machine Systems with High Efficiency, Reliability and Integration in Energies (14 articles)