Aims & Scope

Aims

Smart Energy Systems (SES) is a gold open access, peer-reviewed international journal committed to pioneering research that reimagines the design, operation, and governance of energy systems in an era of rapid digitalization, climate urgency, and societal transformation. The journal’s mission is to advance holistic, intelligent, and equitable solutions that integrate cutting-edge technologies, multi-energy networks, and human-centric policies to decarbonize energy infrastructure while ensuring reliability, affordability, and resilience. It is published quarterly online by Scilight Press.

Core Objectives

Accelerate Technological Innovation:

Foster breakthroughs in smart grid architectures, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and quantum computing to optimize power system operations, enhance renewable energy integration, and enable real-time decision-making. Promote research on adaptive protection systems, self-healing grids, and cyber-physical security to address evolving threats from cyberattacks, extreme weather, and grid instability.

Bridge Energy Sectors and Disciplines:

Catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration between power engineers, data scientists, economists, and policymakers to address systemic challenges in sector coupling (e.g., electricity-transportation-hydrogen-heat), decentralized energy markets, and multi-vector grid interactions. Highlight synergies between digital twins, blockchain, and IoT to enable seamless coordination of distributed energy resources (DERs), virtual power plants (VPPs), and transactive energy ecosystems.

Drive Sustainable and Inclusive Transitions:

Prioritize research that aligns energy systems with global climate goals (e.g., Paris Agreement, SDG7, SDG13) by integrating lifecycle sustainability assessments, circular economy principles, and equity-centered design. Support studies on energy justice, community-owned microgrids, and off-grid solutions tailored to underserved regions, ensuring no population is left behind in the clean energy transition.

Empower Data-Driven Decision-Making:

Advance methodologies for high-resolution energy forecasting (demand, price, renewables), grid-edge analytics, and AI-driven policy simulations. Explore ethical AI frameworks to mitigate biases in energy access models and ensure transparency in algorithmic governance of smart grids.

Translate Theory to Real-World Impact:

Champion applied research with tangible societal benefits, including industrial decarbonization pilots, grid modernization case studies, and policy evaluations of carbon pricing, subsidy reforms, and green hydrogen incentives. Encourage submissions that demonstrate scalable solutions for urban smart districts, rural electrification, and cross-border energy trading.

Foster Global Knowledge Exchange:

Serve as a nexus for international dialogue on emerging trends such as space-energy systems, bio-inspired algorithms for grid resilience, and grid automation. Promote comparative analyses of regional energy transitions, from Europe’s hydrogen valleys to Asia’s offshore wind hubs and Africa’s solar mini-grid innovations.

Vision

Smart Energy Systems aspires to be the definitive scholarly platform for researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers shaping the future of energy. By bridging the gap between theoretical innovation and actionable solutions, the journal aims to catalyze a paradigm shift toward intelligent, interconnected, and socially responsible energy systems that power inclusive growth in a net-zero world.

Scope

Smart Energy Systems (SES) covers advancements in electric power systems and their integration with other energy carriers, digital technologies, and socio-economic frameworks. Key themes include (but are not limited to):

Intelligent Power System Design and Operation

Grid stability, reliability, and resiliency enhancement
AI/ML-driven forecasting (demand, price, renewables)
Real-time monitoring, control, and adaptive protection schemes
Fault analysis, blackout prevention, and self-healing grids
Cyber-physical security frameworks for grid automation
AI-driven dynamic pricing mechanisms for demand flexibility

Multi-Energy Systems and Sector Coupling

Hydrogen, heat, and gas networks interfaced with electricity grids
Transportation-electrification synergies (EV charging, vehicle-to-grid)
Industrial decarbonization through sector coupling
Energy communities, peer-to-peer trading, and local flexibility markets
Low-carbon industrial clusters with shared energy resources
Cross-sector planning for net-zero cities/regions

Renewable Integration and Storage

Grid-scale storage (batteries, hydrogen, thermal)
Hybrid renewable systems and virtual power plants
Microgrids, islanded systems, and off-grid solutions
Hosting capacity analysis and grid-code compliance
Grid-forming inverters and synthetic inertia for renewable-dominant grids
Community-centric storage solutions for rural/urban resilience

Energy Markets and Policy

Ancillary services, capacity markets, and flexibility trading
Carbon pricing, green certificates, and subsidy mechanisms
Transactive energy models for prosumer-driven markets
Global case studies on energy transition policies
Blockchain for decentralized carbon credit trading
Equity-centered subsidy design for underserved populations

Smart Grids and Digitalization

Cybersecurity for SCADA, IoT, and distributed energy resources
Digital twins, blockchain, and edge computing for grid management
Generation, transmission, and distribution expansion planning
Smart buildings, positive energy districts, and demand response
Quantum computing applications in power system optimization
Ethical AI frameworks for energy access prioritization
Human-centric smart home/building interfaces

Sustainability and Climate Resilience

Lifecycle analysis of energy infrastructure
Grid hardening against extreme weather and cyber-physical threats
Circular economy in grid asset management
Equity and justice in energy system transitions
Climate risk quantification in grid planning
Just transition strategies for fossil fuel-dependent workforce