Research on Sustainable Thermal Energy Storage Systems
A Special Issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) belonging to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 February 2027 | Viewed by 707
Editor
Interests: waste energy; renewable energy; energy storage; thermal heat-driven cooling; heating; desalination; power generation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Sustainable thermal energy storage (TES) systems play a critical role in the transition toward low-carbon, resilient, and energy-efficient societies. By enabling the temporal decoupling of energy supply and demand, TES technologies support the large-scale integration of renewable energy sources, enhance energy system flexibility, and improve the overall efficiency of thermal management across buildings, industry, and energy networks. As global energy systems increasingly shift toward electrification and renewable deployment, the development of advanced and sustainable TES solutions will become both a scientific challenge and a strategic priority.
This Special Issue will focus on the design, analysis, optimization, and deployment of sustainable thermal energy storage systems across multiple spatial and temporal scales. The scope encompasses fundamental materials research, component- and system-level engineering, and integrated energy system applications. Particular emphasis will be placed on sustainability-oriented approaches, including life-cycle assessment, environmental impact reduction, resource efficiency, and long-term system reliability. The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive platform for advancing the theoretical understanding, experimental validation, and practical implementation of the TES technologies that will contribute to sustainable energy transitions.
A substantial body of literature already exists on conventional thermal energy storage methods, such as sensible, latent, and thermochemical storage. However, many existing studies focus on isolated performance metrics or specific applications, often without fully addressing sustainability considerations, system integration challenges, or cross-sectoral interactions. This Special Issue aims to usefully supplement the existing literature by fostering interdisciplinary contributions that bridge material innovation, system modeling, techno-economic assessments, and real-world applications. By consolidating recent advances and emerging research directions, this Special Issue seeks to identify knowledge gaps, highlight best practices, and stimulate future research toward scalable and sustainable TES solutions.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and comprehensive review papers are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Advanced materials for sustainable thermal energy storage, including phase change materials and thermochemical storage media;
- Design and optimization of sensible, latent, and thermochemical TES systems;
- Thermal energy storage integration in renewable energy systems, district heating and cooling, and industrial processes;
- Modeling, simulation, and control strategies for TES-enhanced energy systems;
- Life-cycle assessment, techno-economic analysis, and sustainability evaluation of TES technologies;
- Novel applications of thermal energy storage in buildings, smart energy systems, and energy-intensive industries.
Dr. Zisheng Lu
Guest Editor
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability 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 2400 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
- thermal energy storage
- sustainable energy systems
- phase change materials
- thermochemical storage
- energy system integration
- renewable energy
- life-cycle assessment
- energy efficiency
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