Like any other form of infrastructure, the energy infrastructure is a key driver of global economic growth and competitiveness. The existing research clearly defines what energy infrastructure is and what it includes. For example, traditional utilities like gas and pipelines, power generation systems for fossil fuels (e.g., coal, nuclear, natural gas, diesel, among others) and renewable ones (e.g., solar, wind, biomass, fuel cell, among others), electrical transmission lines, coal trains, electrical metering and distribution systems, smart systems, storage facilities, advanced electric and electronic systems, and various types of power control systems all come under the energy infrastructure. In addition to these, today's energy infrastructure also includes many directly or indirectly related industrial systems and the numerous interdependent sectors like transportation (e.g., electric vehicles), food and agriculture (farm machinery, agrivoltaics), among others.
Such interdependencies suggest that the effective planning and implementation of energy infrastructure is a must to ensure the competitiveness of the energy and the other dependent sectors. However, when we think of ‘effective planning and implementation’, it is not sufficient for the energy infrastructure to rely on feasibility studies from mainly techno-economics and environmental. In most cases, the techno-economics and environmental analyses that we are following ignore many aspects related to sustainability.
There are numerous impact categories that we should consider (e.g. land footprint, water footprint, ecotoxicity), and these should be considered from a life-cycle perspective. The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) advocates having energy infrastructure developments confined to set targets and indicators, broadly promoting the goal “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” However, the energy infrastructure's technology and policy drivers are rapidly changing, whereas the regulatory framework and permitting systems surrounding the energy infrastructure are currently designed for another age, making it difficult for implementation, modernization, expansion, decommissioning, and end-of-life. Therefore, from a broader perspective, it is the time for 'sustainable planning and life-cycle thinking of energy infrastructure'.
This Research Topic aims to analyze innovative solutions and approaches that enable the sustainable transformation of energy infrastructure during its implementation, modernization, expansion, decommissioning, and end-of-life from a science, technology, engineering, and policy perspective. Overall, we seek contributions in the form of original research, reviews, methods, opinions, and perspectives that bring innovation to the energy infrastructure field in terms of both applications and advanced methods, with both short and long-term time scales in mind.
The Topic Editors welcome contributions around energy and its interdependent sectors, including, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Materials, components and products used in energy infrastructure systems
• State of the art energy infrastructure designs from a life-cycle perspective
• State of the art optimization and control methods used in energy infrastructure
• Problem-solving approaches from science, technology, engineering, and policy perspective for an
increasing level of technical complexity and digitalization
• Multifaceted performance investigations of integrated and interdependent energy infrastructure
• Techno-economics and life cycle assessments of energy streams and associated energy infrastructure
• End-of-life approaches and circular business models for energy infrastructure
• Policy and market models for sustainable transformation of energy infrastructure
• Novel technologies integration with existing and new energy infrastructure of interdependent sectors
Like any other form of infrastructure, the energy infrastructure is a key driver of global economic growth and competitiveness. The existing research clearly defines what energy infrastructure is and what it includes. For example, traditional utilities like gas and pipelines, power generation systems for fossil fuels (e.g., coal, nuclear, natural gas, diesel, among others) and renewable ones (e.g., solar, wind, biomass, fuel cell, among others), electrical transmission lines, coal trains, electrical metering and distribution systems, smart systems, storage facilities, advanced electric and electronic systems, and various types of power control systems all come under the energy infrastructure. In addition to these, today's energy infrastructure also includes many directly or indirectly related industrial systems and the numerous interdependent sectors like transportation (e.g., electric vehicles), food and agriculture (farm machinery, agrivoltaics), among others.
Such interdependencies suggest that the effective planning and implementation of energy infrastructure is a must to ensure the competitiveness of the energy and the other dependent sectors. However, when we think of ‘effective planning and implementation’, it is not sufficient for the energy infrastructure to rely on feasibility studies from mainly techno-economics and environmental. In most cases, the techno-economics and environmental analyses that we are following ignore many aspects related to sustainability.
There are numerous impact categories that we should consider (e.g. land footprint, water footprint, ecotoxicity), and these should be considered from a life-cycle perspective. The Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) advocates having energy infrastructure developments confined to set targets and indicators, broadly promoting the goal “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” However, the energy infrastructure's technology and policy drivers are rapidly changing, whereas the regulatory framework and permitting systems surrounding the energy infrastructure are currently designed for another age, making it difficult for implementation, modernization, expansion, decommissioning, and end-of-life. Therefore, from a broader perspective, it is the time for 'sustainable planning and life-cycle thinking of energy infrastructure'.
This Research Topic aims to analyze innovative solutions and approaches that enable the sustainable transformation of energy infrastructure during its implementation, modernization, expansion, decommissioning, and end-of-life from a science, technology, engineering, and policy perspective. Overall, we seek contributions in the form of original research, reviews, methods, opinions, and perspectives that bring innovation to the energy infrastructure field in terms of both applications and advanced methods, with both short and long-term time scales in mind.
The Topic Editors welcome contributions around energy and its interdependent sectors, including, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Materials, components and products used in energy infrastructure systems
• State of the art energy infrastructure designs from a life-cycle perspective
• State of the art optimization and control methods used in energy infrastructure
• Problem-solving approaches from science, technology, engineering, and policy perspective for an
increasing level of technical complexity and digitalization
• Multifaceted performance investigations of integrated and interdependent energy infrastructure
• Techno-economics and life cycle assessments of energy streams and associated energy infrastructure
• End-of-life approaches and circular business models for energy infrastructure
• Policy and market models for sustainable transformation of energy infrastructure
• Novel technologies integration with existing and new energy infrastructure of interdependent sectors
