Sustainable Thermal Management, Energy Storage, and Renewable Energy Conversion for a Sustainable AI-Driven Era

Dear Colleagues,

With the advent of the AI era, global energy demand is undergoing unprecedented growth, driven not only by the expansion of data centers, high-performance computing facilities, and intelligent manufacturing systems, but also by the continuous transformation of industrial, transportation, and residential sectors. This rapid escalation in energy consumption amplifies the urgency of developing sustainable, efficient, and adaptable technologies for heat management, energy storage, renewable energy utilization, and energy-saving applications. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue of Sustainability will focus on innovative research that addresses the intertwined challenges of thermal regulation, multi-form energy storage (thermal, cooling, electrical), renewable energy conversion, and advanced energy efficiency strategies.

Focus and Scope

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary research that integrates engineering, materials science, environmental science, and policy perspectives to accelerate the transition toward sustainable energy systems. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Advanced thermal management systems (electronics, batteries, PV panels, LED lights, buildings, industrial processes, etc.);
2. Energy storage technologies, including phase change materials, adsorption/desorption systems, and hybrid storage concepts;
3. Electrical energy storage solutions, such as batteries, supercapacitors, and emerging hybrid systems;
4. Renewable energy harvesting, conversion, and integration technologies (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.);
5. AI-driven optimization and control for heat management and energy storage;
6. Energy-saving technologies in industrial, urban, and transportation applications;
7. Lifecycle, economic, and environmental assessments of energy technologies;
8. Policies and market mechanisms supporting sustainable energy innovations.

Purpose

The primary objective of this Special Issue is to gather cutting-edge research that not only advances scientific understanding but also offers practical pathways for implementation. We particularly welcome studies that bridge the gap between laboratory-scale innovations and large-scale deployment, as well as those that provide holistic assessments considering performance, sustainability, and socio-economic impacts. By fostering collaboration among academic researchers, industry experts, and policymakers, this Special Issue seeks to promote solutions that are technologically feasible, environmentally responsible, and economically viable.

Relation to Existing Literature

While there is extensive literature on individual topics such as heat management, energy storage, and renewable energy, existing studies often treat these areas in isolation. Few publications adopt a systems-level perspective that integrates thermal regulation, storage technologies, and renewable energy conversion into cohesive strategies for sustainability. Moreover, the emerging energy demands of AI-driven infrastructures remain underexplored in current discourse. This Special Issue will address these gaps by presenting synergistic approaches and cross-disciplinary research that connect fundamental science with applied engineering and policy frameworks. In doing so, it will complement existing literature by highlighting integrated solutions that align with global decarbonization goals, contribute to net-zero energy strategies, and address the unique challenges posed by the digital and AI-intensive era.

Dr. Zengguang Sui
Dr. Jiaqiang Wang
Dr. Zhixiong Ding
Dr. Yunren Sui
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. 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.

• thermal management
• thermal energy storage
• cold energy storage
• electrical energy storage
• phase change materials
• renewable energy conversion
• AI optimization
• energy efficiency
• sustainable energy systems
• net-zero