Challenges Towards Sustainable Energy

Dear Colleagues,

Energy has assumed such an important role that it is increasingly seen as a vital civilization issue. Indeed, the existence of humanity does not seem to be possible while dependent only on natural forms of energy. The production and use of energy in a sustainable way is still a mirage, regardless of the evident research efforts and political objectives. The undeniable reality is that much of the energy currently used around the world is still based on fossil resources (oil and coal), although renewable energy has increased significantly. The use of renewable energy at an increasingly large scale presents huge challenges. This is a complex multidisciplinary problem that encloses the paradigm of energy generation. Challenges include a chain of social stakeholders ranging from the teaching/learning partners to integrated solution providers. In this new scenario, it is necessary to ensure the reliability and efficiency required at various levels of scalability. Energy storage systems and active demand side participation are increasingly needed; with efficient use of available energy, demand flexibility must be intelligently used to compensate for the intermittency of renewable energy sources, such as wind and sun. In this chain context, the circular economy vision is increasingly important because it is a model that is close to the functioning of nature. Therefore, this Special Edition aims to contribute to the "Challenges Towards Sustainable Energy" agenda through scientific development to improve the global and multidisciplinary performance of modern energy systems.

We invite authors to submit articles on innovative technical developments, reviews, case studies, analyses, and evaluations from different disciplines that are relevant to the existing challenges related to sustainable energy. These include smart grids, renewable energy, energy storage systems and materials, life cycle analysis of energy (systems), zero-energy buildings, energy efficiency, (novel) electric and hybrid vehicles, financial and economic analysis, intelligent systems, energy and big data, energy policy, novel energy sources, and renewable-based generation, among others.

Prof. Dr. Carlos Felgueiras
Prof. Dr. Zita A. Vale
Prof. Dr. Coriolano Salvini
Prof. Dr. Luis Tarelho
Prof. Dr. Marta Ferreira Dias
Prof. Dr. Nelson Martins
Prof. Dr. Nídia Caetano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.