Solar Energy for Sustainable Maritime Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Approximately 90% of global trade relies on the international maritime system as it is the most efficient and cost-effective method of cargo transportation for global food security, energy distribution, and the functioning of manufacturing industries. Safe and secure delivery with minimum pollution, maximum energy efficiency, and resource conservation is not just a discretionary option, but an indispensable factor for socio-economic growth and sustainable development. To achieve this, solar energy, as the most harvestable renewable energy source, has been incorporated into the maritime system to supplement fossil marine fuel for emission reduction and energy efficiency improvement. However, solar energy is still a minor contribution to sustainable maritime systems. So far, limited endeavors have been made toward the integration of solar energy at small scales to power onboard electronics and hybrid engines. The slow technological progress and lack of global standards/consensus led to the underexploited but high prospective playfield of solar energy in sustainable maritime systems. Therefore, more attention and effort are needed for collaborative support from both technical (institutes, industries, and national labs) and non-technical (end-users and governments) stakeholders. The major areas of envisioned solar energy for onshore and offshore utilization include energy harvesting by photovoltaics (PV), energy storage and distribution by battery, solar-assisted thermal energy storage and efficient energy utilization, onboard freshwater generation by innovative technologies.

In this regard, this Special Issue aims to invite the submission of original research articles and reviews to address the emerging challenges of standardization and optimization of realistic solar energy utilization in maritime systems and promote their net positive impact on sustainability. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Solar energy harvesting,
  • Design new building ships for efficient or innovative solar PV panel layouts;
  • Solar PV panel/system optimization including but not limited to material innovation for high PV efficiency and maximum power point tracking;
  • Optimization for onboard electronics;
  • Optimization for hybrid power system;
  • Solar thermal energy harvesting and thermal storage technologies;
  • Design for robust operation.
• Solar energy storage and distribution,
  • Battery optimization for energy density in maritime system;
  • Battery safety and stability on marine;
  • DC–AC inverter;
  • Integration of solar assisted thermal energy storage in maritime system for energy efficiency and decarbonization.
• Onboard freshwater generation,
  • Atmospheric water harvesting;
  • Solar steam generation;
  • Solar-driven desalination technologies.
• Policy,
  • Economic and tax incentives;
  • Carbon and Sulphur regulation and incentives;
  • Port planning;
  • Partner solar PV suppliers.
• Life cycle analysis and techno-economic analysis of case studies or hypothetic designs from above topics.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Yun Zhang
Dr. Xiangyu Li
Dr. Jun Qiu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

• solar energy
• sustainability
• maritime system
• photovoltaics
• battery
• thermal energy storage
• desalination
• water harvesting
• design innovation
• optimization
• case study
• carbon regulation
• LCA