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Energies
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Challenges of Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Energy System
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Challenges of Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Energy System

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 4588

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ziemowit Malecha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Cryogenic, Aeronautic and Process Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Interests: fluid mechanics; numerical methods; heat and mass transfer; cryogenics; aerodynamics; wind turbines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Artur Nems

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Thermodynamics and Renewable Energy Sources, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
Interests: heat accumulation and accumulators; modeling of heat accumulators; phase change accumulators; heat transfer; intensification of heat transfer

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The continuous increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and the related greenhouse effect have forced a global shift towards net-zero-emission energy systems. This is associated with many challenges; zero-emission energy primarily comprises renewable energy sources (RES), which have a number of disadvantages. For example, they are unstable, need backup and large-scale energy storage, have low EROI factors, and are very sensitive to severe weather conditions. Moreover, they require huge investments, large amounts of minerals, in-depth changes in distribution systems, and even need to change the current economic paradigms and move away from the need for continuous growth.

Thus, the challenges surrounding the move to net-zero-emission energy systems are highly interdisciplinary. The current Special Issue aims to bring these topics together in one place and invites authors from the fields of energy, mining, environment, climate, economic research, and any other discipline that may be relevant to the topic.

Dr. Ziemowit Malecha
Prof. Dr. Artur Nems
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. Energies 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 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.

Keywords

  • net-zero-emission energy system
  • renewable energy sources
  • emission-free energy sources
  • climate change
  • energy storage
  • EROI

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 718 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Generative AI Chatbots for Net-Zero Emissions Energy Internet-of-Things Infrastructure
by Amali Matharaarachchi, Wishmitha Mendis, Kanishka Randunu, Daswin De Silva, Gihan Gamage, Harsha Moraliyage, Nishan Mills and Andrew Jennings
Energies 2024, 17(8), 1935; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17081935 - 18 Apr 2024
Viewed by 221
Abstract
Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies have been steadily adopted and embedded into energy infrastructure following the rapid transformation of energy grids through distributed consumption, renewables generation, and battery storage. The data streams produced by such energy IoT infrastructure can be extracted, processed, analyzed, and synthesized [...] Read more.
Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies have been steadily adopted and embedded into energy infrastructure following the rapid transformation of energy grids through distributed consumption, renewables generation, and battery storage. The data streams produced by such energy IoT infrastructure can be extracted, processed, analyzed, and synthesized for informed decision-making that delivers optimized grid operations, reduced costs, and net-zero carbon emissions. However, the voluminous nature of such data streams leads to an equally large number of analysis outcomes that have proven ineffective in decision-making by energy grid operators. This gap can be addressed by introducing artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, or more formally conversational agents, to proactively assist human operators in analyzing and identifying decision opportunities in energy grids. In this research, we draw upon the recent success of generative AI for optimized AI chatbots with natural language understanding and generation capabilities for the complex information needs of energy IoT infrastructure and net-zero emissions. The proposed approach for optimized generative AI chatbots is composed of six core modules: Intent Classifier, Knowledge Extractor, Database Retriever, Cached Hierarchical Vector Storage, Secure Prompting, and Conversational Interface with Language Generator. We empirically evaluate the proposed approach and the optimized generative AI chatbot in the real-world setting of an energy IoT infrastructure deployed at a large, multi-campus tertiary education institution. The results of these experiments confirm the contribution of generative AI chatbots in simplifying the complexity of energy IoT infrastructure for optimized grid operations and net-zero carbon emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Energy System)
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15 pages, 2785 KiB  
Article
Enhancing the Energy Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plants through the Optimization of the Aeration Systems
by Giuseppe Campo, Antonella Miggiano, Deborah Panepinto and Mariachiara Zanetti
Energies 2023, 16(6), 2819; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062819 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1666
Abstract
The current geopolitical landscape of the European Union has made it clear that the energy sector must be a top priority in EU policy, especially in light of the sudden escalation of Russian–Ukrainian conflicts. Energy efficiency has been used as the first tool [...] Read more.
The current geopolitical landscape of the European Union has made it clear that the energy sector must be a top priority in EU policy, especially in light of the sudden escalation of Russian–Ukrainian conflicts. Energy efficiency has been used as the first tool of EU policy to tackle energy and climate crises, given the issues surrounding energy vulnerability and the need to limit gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The white certificate mechanism in Italy has played a pivotal role in encouraging measures to achieve the country’s energy-saving goals. Given the high energy requirements of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs), especially for aeration in the biological section, this paper examines the replacement of the air distribution system for a large WWTP as a viable intervention. In order to provide economic perspective for the plant, both the discounted Payback Period (dPBP) and the Net Present Value (NPV) were calculated for the investment. When viewed through an economic lens, the dPBP metric exhibits values that span from less than 1 year to nearly 4.5 years. Additionally, the investment’s cost-effectiveness was emphasized by the NPV, which, depending on the factors considered, can exceed 17.5 million euros. Finally, given the centrality of the theme of climate change, the avoided greenhouse gas emissions generated by the efficiency intervention were calculated, according to the GHG Protocol, resulting in a quantity of avoided emissions equivalent to over 57,770 tonnes of CO2e. These results highlight important achievements in terms of both the cost-effectiveness of the plant and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Energy System)
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Review

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31 pages, 749 KiB  
Review
Challenges of Application of Green Ammonia as Fuel in Onshore Transportation
by Maciej Chorowski, Michał Lepszy, Krystian Machaj, Ziemowit Malecha, Dominika Porwisiak, Paweł Porwisiak, Zbigniew Rogala and Michał Stanclik
Energies 2023, 16(13), 4898; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16134898 - 23 Jun 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2197
Abstract
The main purpose of the article is to present a comprehensive and critical review of the challenges and risks associated with the use of green ammonia as an alternative fuel in land transport. The review is motivated by the clear trend toward phasing [...] Read more.
The main purpose of the article is to present a comprehensive and critical review of the challenges and risks associated with the use of green ammonia as an alternative fuel in land transport. The review is motivated by the clear trend toward phasing out fossil fuel vehicles and replacing them with emission-free alternatives. Topics covered include safety aspects such as safety of powering of vehicles, the production of green ammonia, the use of ammonia in the context of various fuel solutions (combustion engines and fuel cell engines), and the discussion of ammonia-powered vehicles in the context of air pollution. The paper offers new insights into identifying the challenges and obstacles that may arise in the case of the massive use of green ammonia as a fuel for land transport. In addition, the review presents the latest information on the technological readiness of the necessary infrastructure for the production, transport, storage, and utilization of green ammonia in internal combustion or electric engines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges of Transition to a Net-Zero Emissions Energy System)
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