Editor’s Challenge in Advanced Clean Fuel Technologies: Advanced Low Carbon Fuels

About this Research Topic

Background

The Specialty Chief Editors of ‘Frontiers in Energy Research’ are delighted to launch a new series of Research Topics entitled Editor's Challenge. Submissions are exclusively from the editorial board and aim to engage discussions to highlight current challenges and solutions across the field.

Climate change has increasing impacts on the environment, society, and economy. To address the problems derived there is an urgent need to promote technologies to achieve the net-zero emissions targets worldwide by mid-century. Low-carbon fuels (LCFs) could be an alternative solution to achieve the zero-carbon development goals during the global energy transition we are facing. There are multiple ways for LCFs production; for instance, from biomass that captures carbon emissions during its growth, renewable electricity, e.g. hydrogen and ammonia, and fossil fuels with carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology. LCFs can either be used with conventional fossil fuels or on their own. The main advantage is that they can achieve carbon savings compared with fossil fuels over their life cycle. In addition, the development of LCFs technology and the increasing utilization of biofuels will improve the flexibility of energy supply and ensure energy security. Furthermore, after deeper implementation of CCUS technology, the combination with LCFs energy will become pivotal to ensuring zero-carbon and, eventually, negative carbon emissions. We will highlight some of the common challenges and uncertainties associated with the LCFs to find potential solutions and priorities. Here the research topic mainly focuses on LCFs and efficient utilization technology, biofuels technology, fuels technology derived from biological materials and electricity, renewable fuels technology of non-biological origin, cleaner fossil fuels technology, improvement of fossil fuels conversion and utilization efficiency, reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, and improving systems and equipment.

We welcome authors to submit manuscripts covering but not limited to, the following topics:

• Low carbon fuels;
• Biofuels;
• Clean fuels derived from biological materials and electricity;
• Fossil fuels with CCUS technology applied;
• Renewable fuels technology of non-biological origin;
• Coupling utilization technology of low carbon fuels blended with fossil fuels;
• Optimization and control of energy conversion process;
• Clean fuels/technologies.

Keywords: low carbon fuels, Biofuels, Renewable fuels of non-biological origin, CCUS technology, clean fuels & technology, pollution reduction, carbon reduction

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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