Advanced Energy Materials APC and Open Access: Wiley Pricing, DEAL Agreements, and Top-Tier Alternatives
Advanced Energy Materials charges ~$5,500-$6,000 for open access. Wiley-VCH hybrid, IF ~25, DEAL coverage. Comparison with Joule, Nature Energy, ACS Energy Letters.
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Quick answer: Advanced Energy Materials charges roughly $5,500-$6,000 for gold open access. The subscription track is free. As a Wiley-VCH journal, it's covered by the German DEAL agreement and other Wiley Read & Publish deals. With an Impact Factor around 25, AEM is one of the most prestigious energy journals in the world, sitting just below Nature Energy and Joule in the energy research hierarchy.
What Advanced Energy Materials charges
Component | Details |
|---|---|
Gold OA APC | ~$5,500-$6,000 |
CC BY license | Higher end of range |
CC BY-NC-ND license | Lower end of range |
Subscription-track | $0 |
Submission fee | $0 |
Color figures (online) | $0 |
Advanced Energy Materials is part of Wiley-VCH's Advanced Materials family, which also includes Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Materials, and Small. All share the same APC pricing structure and institutional agreement coverage.
The journal publishes approximately 2,000 articles per year, making it highly selective relative to its submission volume. The desk rejection rate is estimated at 60-70%, and the overall acceptance rate sits around 15-20%.
Wiley DEAL and institutional agreements
The single most important factor in determining what you'll actually pay for AEM is your institutional agreement with Wiley. For researchers at covered institutions, the effective cost is $0.
Region / Consortium | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Germany (DEAL) | Full APC coverage | Covers all Wiley journals, including the entire Advanced Materials family |
UK (Jisc) | Full APC coverage | Covers Wiley hybrid and gold OA journals |
Netherlands (UKB) | Full coverage | National agreement |
Austria | Full coverage | FWF/consortium deal |
Sweden (Bibsam) | Full or partial | Active agreement |
Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland | Various | Growing network |
United States | Varies by institution | No national deal, individual university agreements |
Australia (CAUL) | Capped | Shared allocation across institutions |
Germany is the center of gravity for this journal. German universities produce a disproportionate share of energy materials research, and the DEAL agreement means German corresponding authors can publish OA in AEM at no cost. This has made AEM a default choice for many German energy materials labs.
For US researchers: there's no national Wiley agreement, but many R1 universities have individual Wiley R&P deals. Check with your library. If you don't have Wiley coverage but do have an ACS agreement, ACS Energy Letters might be cheaper in practice.
The energy journal landscape
Energy research has an unusually well-defined journal hierarchy. Understanding where AEM sits helps frame the APC discussion.
Tier 1 (IF 30+): Nature Energy (~50), Joule (~39). The most selective energy journals. Publish papers with field-defining impact.
Tier 2 (IF 20-30): Advanced Energy Materials (~25), Energy & Environmental Science (~33). Highly selective but more accessible than Nature Energy or Joule. AEM specializes in materials for energy. EES (RSC) is broader.
Tier 3 (IF 10-20): ACS Energy Letters (~20), Nano Energy (~17), Cell Reports Physical Science (~8). Strong journals with varying degrees of selectivity.
Tier 4 (IF 5-10): Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Electrochimica Acta, Journal of Power Sources. Solid, well-respected journals for more incremental work.
AEM's position at Tier 2 means it publishes genuinely high-impact energy materials research but isn't as brutally selective as Nature Energy or Joule.
How AEM compares on cost
Journal | APC (USD) | Model | IF (2024) | Publisher | R&P Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adv Energy Mater | ~$5,500-$6,000 | Hybrid | ~25 | Wiley | Strong (DEAL, Jisc) |
ACS Energy Letters | ~$4,500-$5,000 | Hybrid | ~20 | ACS | Strong (ACS deals) |
Joule | ~$5,500 | Hybrid | ~39 | Cell Press | Weak (excluded from Elsevier R&P) |
Nature Energy | $12,850 | Hybrid | ~50 | Springer Nature | Strong (SN deals) |
Energy & Environ Sci | ~$3,000-$4,000 | Hybrid | ~33 | RSC | Moderate (RSC deals) |
A few things stand out in this comparison:
Joule is expensive in practice. Despite having a listed APC similar to AEM, Joule is a Cell Press journal, and Cell Press titles are excluded from standard Elsevier R&P agreements. This means most institutional deals won't cover Joule. You'll likely pay out of pocket or from grant funds.
Energy & Environmental Science (RSC) is a bargain. EES has a higher IF than AEM (~33 vs ~25) and a lower APC. RSC's institutional deals are less extensive than Wiley's, but the base price is already competitive. For researchers without any institutional coverage, EES offers strong value.
ACS Energy Letters is the main alternative. Similar prestige tier, slightly lower IF, and covered by ACS institutional agreements. If your institution has ACS but not Wiley deals, ACS Energy Letters is the natural substitute.
Nature Energy is for career-defining papers only. The $12,850 APC is steep, but papers in Nature Energy carry enormous weight in hiring and grant decisions. The APC may be covered by Springer Nature deals at your institution.
Waivers and discounts
Geographic waivers: Wiley provides full APC waivers for corresponding authors in Research4Life Group A (low-income) countries. Group B countries receive partial discounts.
Institutional coverage is the primary path. With Wiley's extensive DEAL and R&P network, the most practical way to avoid the APC is through your institution's agreement. This should be your first check.
Hardship waivers: Available on a case-by-case basis. Wiley's policy states that financial constraints shouldn't prevent publication of quality research.
No society member discounts. Unlike ACS journals (which offer ACS member discounts), AEM has no society affiliation and no member pricing.
Funder mandate compliance
Funder/Policy | Compliant? | Route |
|---|---|---|
Plan S (cOAlition S) | Yes | Gold OA with CC BY |
NIH Public Access | Yes | PMC deposit or gold OA |
UKRI | Yes | Gold OA or rights retention |
ERC / Horizon Europe | Yes | Gold OA with CC BY |
DFG (Germany) | Yes | Gold OA, covered by DEAL |
NSF / DOE | Yes | Embargo deposit or gold OA |
For DFG-funded researchers, the DEAL agreement makes compliance automatic and free. For European Plan S funders, CC BY gold OA satisfies mandates. US researchers can use the subscription track with embargo deposit if they don't want to pay the APC.
AEM vs ACS Energy Letters: the practical comparison
This is the most common head-to-head decision for energy materials researchers. Both journals occupy a similar niche, and the choice often comes down to institutional economics.
Advanced Energy Materials: IF ~25, Wiley-VCH, ~2,000 papers/year. Stronger in battery materials, solar cells, and electrocatalysis. Covered by Wiley DEAL agreements. European labs tend to prefer AEM.
ACS Energy Letters: IF ~20, ACS, ~1,500 papers/year. Letters format (shorter papers). Strong in photovoltaics, electrochemistry, and fundamental energy science. Covered by ACS Read & Publish agreements. US labs tend to prefer ACS Energy Letters.
If your institution covers Wiley but not ACS, submit to AEM. If it covers ACS but not Wiley, submit to ACS Energy Letters. If both are covered (or neither is), let the science and format requirements guide your choice.
Hidden costs
- No page charges beyond the APC
- Online color figures are free. Print color may have charges, but the journal is primarily digital.
- Supporting Information is free to host
- Transfer within Wiley: If rejected from Advanced Materials and transferred to AEM, the AEM APC applies (same price). The transfer doesn't add fees, but it also doesn't reduce them.
- Tax: EU VAT may apply (15-25% depending on jurisdiction). Check whether your institution handles VAT exemptions.
The practical decision
Advanced Energy Materials is a top-tier venue for energy materials research. The APC is high in absolute terms ($5,500-$6,000), but the effective cost for many researchers is $0 thanks to Wiley's institutional agreement network.
Before submitting:
- Check your Wiley agreement first. If covered, publish OA for free.
- No Wiley deal? Check whether ACS Energy Letters or Energy & Environmental Science are covered instead.
- No agreements at all? Publish subscription-track for free. AEM has strong library coverage in energy research departments.
- Budget available? If you can pay and want maximum OA visibility, the APC is competitive for a journal of this caliber.
Make sure your energy materials characterization is thorough, your device performance data is clearly presented, and your stability testing is adequate. These are common reviewer concerns at AEM. Run a free readiness scan to identify weaknesses before submission.
Reference library
Use the core publishing datasets alongside this guide
This article answers one part of the publishing decision. The reference library covers the recurring questions that usually come next: how selective journals are, how long review takes, and what the submission requirements look like across journals.
Dataset / reference guide
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.
Dataset / benchmark
Biomedical Journal Acceptance Rates
A field-organized acceptance-rate guide that works as a neutral benchmark when authors are deciding how selective to target.
Reference table
Journal Submission Specs
A high-utility submission table covering word limits, figure caps, reference limits, and formatting expectations.
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