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Advanced Renewable Energy Technologies and Systems: Development, Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 4035

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Thermochemical Power Group (TPG), DIME, University of Genova, 16145 Genova, Italy
Interests: energy efficiency; renewable energy; alternative fuels; fuel cells; energy storage systems; thermo-economic analysis

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Guest Editor
Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
Interests: numerical modelling; renewable energy; neural networks; power converters; machine learning; optimization; embedded devices; circuits; energy storage; solar energy
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Guest Editor
Renewable Energy Systems and Recycling Research Centre, Transilvania University of Brasov, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Interests: sustainable and renewable energy systems; solar irradiance; photovoltaic systems; hybrid electrical energy systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy is a vital component of social/economic growth and a driver in raising living standards. Conventional fossil fuels are finite and non-renewable, using them adds to greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere, which drives up global temperatures. Therefore, the integration and growth of renewable energy technologies and systems has become critical for preserving the potential of keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and ensuring a worldwide net zero emissions trajectory by the middle of the century. These innovations are at the forefront of enabling a fair and just shift to a low-carbon economy.

There are various forms of renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, biofuels, wave, tidal, and others) that can be incorporated to minimize the use of fossil fuels. In addition to sustainable energy generation, a promising solution to store sustainable energy is crucial. Clean fuels and battery energy storage are good options for several power systems to store different amounts of energy for short and long durations. There are various systems and concepts that can be employed to take advantage of clean sources such as solar PV panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, hydropower systems and hybrid/integrated energy systems. To conclude, the increasing deployment of renewable energy and green technology is important to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution and expand energy access.

This Special Issue aims to showcase the latest research achievements in the development of renewable energy technologies, as well as applications and perspectives of sustainable energy systems. The potential topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel concepts and ideas related to renewable energy technologies;
  • Sustainable technologies for the decarbonization of power systems;
  • Integrated assessment and modeling of renewable energy systems;
  • Technical, economic and environmental analysis of renewable energy technologies and hybrid systems;
  • Integration of renewable energy sources and energy storage technologies;
  • Case studies demonstrating the implementation of renewable energy technologies;
  • Best-practice analysis and review of green technologies and solutions;
  • Fuel cell systems and integrated clean systems;
  • Hybrid energy systems that are based on clean fuels.

Dr. Ahmed Elkafas
Dr. Gabriele Maria Lozito
Dr. Bogdan-Gabriel Burduhos
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. Applied Sciences 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

  • renewable energy
  • energy transition
  • alternative fuels
  • energy storage systems
  • integrated energy systems
  • climate change mitigation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3252 KiB  
Article
Assessing Voltage Stability in Distribution Networks: A Methodology Considering Correlation among Stochastic Variables
by Yuan Gao, Sheng Li and Xiangyu Yan
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(15), 6455; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14156455 - 24 Jul 2024
Viewed by 588
Abstract
Distributed photovoltaic (PV) output exhibits strong stochasticity and weak adjustability. After being integrated with the network, its interaction with stochastic loads increases the difficulty of assessing the distribution network’s static voltage stability (SVS). In response to this issue, this article presents a probabilistic [...] Read more.
Distributed photovoltaic (PV) output exhibits strong stochasticity and weak adjustability. After being integrated with the network, its interaction with stochastic loads increases the difficulty of assessing the distribution network’s static voltage stability (SVS). In response to this issue, this article presents a probabilistic assessment method for SVS in a distribution network with distributed PV that considers the bilateral uncertainties and correlations on the source and load sides. The probabilistic models for the uncertain variables are established, with the correlation between stochastic variables described using the Copula function. The three-point estimate method (3PEM) based on the Nataf transformation is used to generate correlated samples. Continuous power flow (CPF) calculations are then performed on these samples to obtain the system’s critical voltage stability state. The distribution curves of critical voltage and load margin index (LMI) are fitted using Cornish-Fisher series. Finally, the utility function is introduced to establish the degree of risk of voltage instability under different scenarios, and the SVS assessment of the distribution network is completed. The IEEE 33-node distribution system is utilized to test the method presented, and the results across various scenarios highlight the method’s effectiveness. Full article
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15 pages, 5659 KiB  
Article
Development of Dehydrogenation System for Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier with Enhanced Reaction Rate
by Juhan Lee, Muhammad Usman, Sanghyoun Park, Sangyong Lee and Myung Ho Song
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5803; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135803 - 3 Jul 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
Owing to the massive expansion and intermittent nature of renewable power, green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation technologies with improved economic returns need to be developed. Moreover, the slowness of the dehydrogenation reaction is a primary barrier to the commercialization of liquid organic [...] Read more.
Owing to the massive expansion and intermittent nature of renewable power, green hydrogen production, storage, and transportation technologies with improved economic returns need to be developed. Moreover, the slowness of the dehydrogenation reaction is a primary barrier to the commercialization of liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology. The present study focused on increasing the speed of dehydrogenation, resulting in the proposal of a triple-loop dehydrogenation system comprising reaction, heating, and chilling loops. The reactor has a rotating cage containing a packed bed of catalyst pellets, which is designed to enhance both heat and mass transfer by helping to detach precipitated hydrogen bubbles from the catalyst surface. In addition, the centrifugal force aids in isolating the gas phase from the LOHC liquid. A dehydrogenation experiment was conducted using the reaction and chilling loops, which revealed that the average hydrogen production rate during the first hour was 52.6 LPM (liter per minute) from 26.3 L of perhydro-dibenzyl-toluene with 1.5 kg of 0.5 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. This was approximately 48% more than the value predicted with the reaction kinetics measured with a small-scale plug flow dehydrogenation reactor with less than 1.0 g of 5.0 wt% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst. The concept, construction methods, and results of the preliminary gas infiltration, flow visualization, and reactor pumping experiments are also described in this paper. Full article
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14 pages, 1575 KiB  
Article
On Efficiency of Two-Degree-of-Freedom Galloping Energy Harvesters with Two Transducers
by Filip Sarbinowski and Roman Starosta
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(13), 5427; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14135427 - 22 Jun 2024
Viewed by 573
Abstract
This paper examines the energy efficiency of three variations of the two-degree-of-freedom transverse galloping energy harvester. These variants differ in the number and placement of electromechanical transducers. By utilizing the harmonic balance method, the limit cycles of mathematical models of the devices were [...] Read more.
This paper examines the energy efficiency of three variations of the two-degree-of-freedom transverse galloping energy harvester. These variants differ in the number and placement of electromechanical transducers. By utilizing the harmonic balance method, the limit cycles of mathematical models of the devices were determined. Analytical expressions derived from the models were then used to formulate the efficiency of the systems. It was demonstrated that efficiency depends on flow speed and can be comprehensively characterized by the following criteria parameters: peak efficiency, denoting the maximum efficiency of the system, and high-efficiency bandwidth, which describes the range of flow speeds within which the efficiency remains at no less than 90% of peak efficiency. The values of these parameters are heavily reliant on two other parameters: the speed at which the system achieves peak efficiency, referred to as the nominal speed, and also the flow speed at which the system undergoes Hopf bifurcation, namely the critical speed. Comparative analysis revealed that only the device equipped with two electromechanical transducers can potentially outperform a simple one-degree-of-freedom system. For selected parameters, this gain reached nearly 10%. Full article
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13 pages, 4519 KiB  
Article
Electrochemical Deposition of Bismuth on Graphite Felt Electrodes: Influence on Negative Half-Cell Reactions in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries
by Shengbin Chen, Chuanyu Sun, Huan Zhang, Hao Yu and Wentong Wang
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 3316; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14083316 - 15 Apr 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1302
Abstract
In this paper, bismuth (Bi) was successfully deposited on graphite felts to improve the electrochemical performances of vanadium redox flow batteries. Modified graphite felts with different Bi particle loadings were obtained through electrochemical deposition at voltages of 0.8 V, 1.2 V and 1.6 [...] Read more.
In this paper, bismuth (Bi) was successfully deposited on graphite felts to improve the electrochemical performances of vanadium redox flow batteries. Modified graphite felts with different Bi particle loadings were obtained through electrochemical deposition at voltages of 0.8 V, 1.2 V and 1.6 V in 0.1 M BiCl3 solution for 10 min. The optimal Bi particle loading was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), single cells and electrochemical tests. The SEM images revealed the deposition of granular Bi particles on the fiber surface. The Bi-modified felts which were electro-chemically deposited at 1.2 V (Bi/TGF-1.2V) showed excellent electrochemical performances in cyclic voltammetry curves and impedance spectroscopy. Meanwhile, the single cells assembled with Bi/TGF-1.2V as negative electrodes exhibited higher voltage efficiencies than the others. The optimized Bi particle loading induced better catalysis of the V3+/V2+ reaction and hence significantly improved the cell performances. In addition, the prepared Bi-modified felts showed stable cell performances and slower charge–discharge capacity declines than the other electrodes at current densities between 20 mA/cm2 and 80 mA/cm2. Compared with the pristine felt, the voltage efficiency of the vanadium redox flow battery assembled with Bi/TGF-1.2V graphite felt was 9.47% higher at the current density of 80 mA/cm2. The proposed method has considerable potential and guiding significance for the future modification of graphite felt for redox flow batteries. Full article
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