BMC Environmental Science is calling for submissions to our Collection on the role of energy storage systems in advancing the global decarbonization agenda, offering insights, innovations, and solutions to catalyze a sustainable and clean energy future.
About three-quarters of green-house gas emissions are currently produced by the energy sector, which is still mostly reliant on burning fossil fuels. Replacing coal, gas and oil-fired energy production with alternative energy sources will therefore be key in reaching the net zero target in 2050. Moreover, the energy sector will also have to provide carbon sinks for parts of the other sectors.
Advancements in new energy storage systems play a pivotal role in enabling this transition by ensuring the reliability, stability, and efficiency of renewable energy integration.
Some of the biggest challenges we are currently facing in transitioning to alternative energy sources are the intermittency of power sources like wind and sun, as well as their reliable integration into a fully sector integrated smart energy system. Developing cost-effective and efficient energy storage technologies that can store large amounts of excess energy is therefore crucial for overcoming the periodic nature of renewables.
Recent innovations have helped accelerate the technology behind a sustainable energy future. For instance, breakthroughs in battery technology, including solid-state batteries and advanced lithium-ion designs, have been extending energy storage capacities and lifespans while reducing costs, making electric vehicles and their integration with renewable energy more efficient. Cross-sectoral integration between the power sector and the heating and cooling as well as the transport and industrial sectors using power-to-heat and power-to-X provides for cost-efficient solutions to the integration of renewable energy by use of various thermal, hydrogen, methane, and liquid green fuels storages. Smart grid technologies and demand response systems, enhanced by artificial intelligence and data analytics, are optimizing energy consumption and grid management, facilitating a cleaner, more reliable energy transition.
We invite researchers from energy science and engineering, environmental studies, materials science, policy analysis, economics, and related disciplines to submit their original research related to decarbonization, including, but not limited to:
- Advanced energy storage technologies and materials
- Integration of energy storage with smart renewable energy systems
- Energy storage applications in transportation and resilience
- Sustainability and life-cycle analysis of energy storage systems
- Energy storage policies, regulations, and market dynamics
- Techno-economic analysis and modeling of energy storage projects
- Storage use in the carbon management of fully decarbonized societies
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