Energy science during industrial transformation

Remarkable progress in energy science and engineering has resulted in dramatic reductions in the costs of energy. The cost of electricity from solar and wind energy is continuing to fall. Batteries are produced at lower costs as the increase in vehicles demands a larger scale of production. Extraction of oil and gas from shale formations has been made possible, increasing supply. The falling cost of energy has provided better conditions for economic development.

Most of the research reported in the initial two volumes of Energy Science and Engineering are contributions to these developments. But energy science also deals with the assessment of energy options.

In the coming year, we may see further articles related to greenhouse gas emissions and opportunities to reduce these. The climate meeting in Paris 2015 is likely to make many research issues increasingly relevant. As an open-access journal, Energy Science and Engineering has a particular value when readers are not able to access less available publications requiring subscriptions.

As an editor, I look forward to see more reports of engineering progress, but also on the industrial implementation of such results. As the progress of renewable energy technology is demonstrating, marginal improvements may at some point result in restructuring of industrial sectors. What we used to understand as “electric utility” or “base-load power plant” is about to become obsolete.

We can see information technologies entering the electricity sector. But with the technologies also comes technology providing companies, mobile phone operators, and internet companies. In the fuel sector, forest industries have turned into biofuel suppliers and petroleum refineries are starting to invest in forest product refinery processes.

As energy science and technology is reshaped by industrial developments, our journal is open to the analysis of these transformations. I hope to see this journal spreading quality papers with such novel ideas and perspectives. To succeed, we are dependent of reviewers able to assess qualities also among ideas and perspectives that may seem odd because they are new.

I would like to thank those who have taken time to do these qualified reviews establishing this journal. I hope you will continue to assist in making this a journal relevant to the global energy industry. Reviewers contribute by making reviews quickly, so that the management of submissions can be fast and attractive for authors. The journal has become attractive for readers as reviewers have shown ability to identify quality, and in some cases helped authors to refine their papers.

Welcome to the third volume of Energy Science and Engineering!