Expanding Nuclear Applications and Technologies for a Clean Energy Future
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A5: Hydrogen Energy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2022) | Viewed by 41497
Special Issue Editors
Interests: nuclear energy; energy security; nuclear energy markets; clean energy and systems research; nuclear technology; advanced signal processing techniques, energy policy; stakeholder engagement processes; integrated energy systems architecture design; and global nuclear energy market strategies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As the world enters a formative period of transition to clean energy economies, commercial nuclear energy markets enter their sixth decade of existence. Today, nuclear energy accounts for over 10% of global electricity generation, and the number of nuclear reactors deployed continues to grow steadily. These reactors, however, are principally deployed to serve baseload electricity markets, and the complexity and cost of deploying these large legacy-technology reactors can be prohibitive for emerging and transitioning energy markets, and thus inhibit the fullest possible benefit of a key resource in establishing clean energy economies.
To address these and other challenges, a new generation of technologies is envisioned, which promise to enable the expansion of nuclear energy in transitioning and emerging energy markets. These systems and technologies, typically much smaller in size, and including “cartridge core” type systems utilizing intelligent monitoring and control unprecedented in today’s fleet, are envisioned to be integrated into industrial operations, operate semi-autonomously or by remote-control, provide heat and power in remote geographies or in relatively under-developed infrastructures, and provide load-follow options as part of resilient hybrid nuclear–renewable energy grids. As such, the technology may open a path for the global deployment of nuclear energy much different than that of the past six decades, one characterized by large fleets of small reactors integrated into community and industrial systems. These approaches, however, will require not only new classes of technology, but also the dedicated, deliberate development of social license among stakeholders, as well as a re-examination of the norms and standards guiding export and operations.
This Special Issue seeks to contribute to the understanding of the potential for a new class of nuclear technologies, nuclear operations, and deployment approaches in establishing the foundation for clean energy economies, as well as to the deep understanding of related technology, and to describe social and policy issues key to realizing the potential of the technology. To this end, we invite papers describing advances in novel small reactor designs and enabling technologies and techniques key to their deployment, such as the use of digital twins, advanced monitoring and controls, and other techniques; systems integration and hybridization architectures and enabling technologies including energy storage, hydrogen generation, and carbon conversion using nuclear energy; and research and development focused on next-generation nuclear technology acceptance in a variety of socioeconomic environments.
Dr. Steven E. Aumeier
Dr. John C. Wagner
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.
Keywords
- nuclear energy
- nuclear technology
- clean energy
- energy transitions
- embedded intelligence
- digital twin
- fission battery
- microreactor
- small modular reactor
- grid-scale energy storage
- hydrogen generation
- emerging energy markets
- social license
- autonomous operations
- hybrid energy systems
- carbon conversion
- carbon management
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.