Applied Catalysis B APC and Open Access: Current Elsevier Pricing, Acceptance Reality, and When Gold OA Is Worth It
Applied Catalysis B APC is USD 5,980. Hybrid Elsevier model, 13% acceptance, fast review, and route tradeoffs.
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Choose the next useful decision step first.
Use the guide or checklist that matches this page's intent before you ask for a manuscript-level diagnostic.
Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy publishing costs and open access options
APC is one cost. Funder mandates, institutional agreements, and access route timing all shape what you actually pay.
What shapes what you pay
- Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy offers open access publishing. Check whether your institution has a read-and-publish agreement.
- Funder mandates (NIH, Wellcome, UKRI) may require immediate OA — verify compliance before choosing a subscription route.
- Accepted authors typically have 48-72 hours to choose their access route before proofs begin.
When OA is worth the cost
- When your funder or institution requires it — non-compliance can affect future funding.
- When your topic benefits from broad immediate access beyond institutional subscribers.
- Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy's IF 21.1 means OA papers here have real citation upside.
Quick answer: Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy APC is currently USD 5,980 excluding taxes. The journal remains hybrid, so authors can still publish on the subscription route without a gold-OA charge. Elsevier's own current journal insights page also makes one thing very clear: this is a 13% acceptance-rate journal with a fast front-end screen. For most authors, the bigger risk is not the APC. It is paying attention to the APC before confirming the paper is really an Applied Catalysis B journal fit.
Applied Catalysis B APC at a glance
Item | Current position |
|---|---|
Journal model | Hybrid |
Gold OA APC | USD 5,980 excluding taxes |
Subscription route | No publication fee charged to authors |
2024 impact factor | 21.1 |
5-year JIF | 20.8 |
CiteScore | 38.4 |
Acceptance rate | 13% |
This is a premium APC attached to a genuinely elite applied-catalysis title. A quick Applied Catalysis B readiness check is usually worth more than a long budget discussion if the manuscript still has thin benchmarking, unrealistic testing conditions, or weak environmental relevance.
What Elsevier currently says
Elsevier's current journal insights page is unusually useful here because it exposes not just the APC, but the live operating posture of the journal:
- USD 5,980 APC excluding taxes
- subscription route with no publication fee charged to authors
- 5 days from submission to first decision
- 27 days from submission to decision after review
- 65 days from submission to acceptance
- 13% acceptance rate
That combination matters. ACB is not just expensive. It is expensive and highly selective.
Route | Cost logic | What authors should assume |
|---|---|---|
Gold OA | USD 5,980 | Best when funding or agreement support exists |
Subscription | No fee charged to authors | Often rational if gold OA is not required |
The practical result is that authors should decide fit first, access model second.
Metrics context behind the APC
Metric | Current figure | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Impact Factor | 21.1 | ACB still sits at the very top of applied catalysis |
5-year JIF | 20.8 | Citation strength is not just a short-term spike |
CiteScore | 38.4 | Scopus visibility is extremely strong |
SJR | 5.18 | Prestige-weighted influence remains top-tier |
Category rank | 1 / 79 | The journal is still number one in catalysis by JCR |
Acceptance rate | 13% | The editorial filter is severe |
This is why the APC discussion needs discipline. The journal is not charging a premium for broad volume. It is charging a premium while maintaining one of the tightest acceptance profiles in the field.
Long-run impact factor trend
Year | Impact factor |
|---|---|
2017 | 11.7 |
2018 | 14.2 |
2019 | 16.7 |
2020 | 19.5 |
2021 | 24.3 |
2022 | 22.1 |
2023 | 21.4 |
2024 | 21.1 |
The year-over-year move is slightly negative. Applied Catalysis B is down from 21.4 in 2023 to 21.1 in 2024, but still massively ahead of where it was in 2017. That is post-peak normalization, not editorial weakening.
Why the fee decision is secondary here
At many APC pages, the cost is the main question. At Applied Catalysis B, it usually is not.
What usually determines the real outcome is whether the manuscript is:
- genuinely about environmental or energy catalysis
- benchmarked against current serious alternatives
- tested under conditions the field will respect
- framed around a real application, not just impressive conversion numbers
If the paper fails on those points, gold OA does nothing for you. The fast front-end screen only gets you to a desk rejection faster.
Readiness check
Run the scan while the topic is in front of you.
See score, top issues, and journal-fit signals before you submit.
How Applied Catalysis B compares with nearby catalysis journals
Journal | APC signal | Better when |
|---|---|---|
Applied Catalysis B | Highest premium in this group | The paper is strongly environmental or energy catalysis and has real-world relevance |
ACS Catalysis | Premium hybrid route | The work is broader catalysis, not necessarily application-first |
Journal of Catalysis | Lower-prestige fundamental lane | The story is mechanistic catalysis rather than environmental deployment |
Applied Catalysis A | Lower-cost neighboring lane | The work is catalysis-focused but not strong enough for B's environmental-energy bar |
That is the main decision tree. Authors often compare ACB against ACS Catalysis because both are prestigious. The real difference is not prestige alone. It is whether the manuscript's application logic is central enough for ACB's screen.
In our pre-submission review work on ACB papers
In our pre-submission review work, the most common mistake is assuming the journal will forgive weak realism if the catalyst performance numbers are exciting.
What usually works:
- convincing benchmark comparison
- realistic testing conditions
- strong stability or regeneration evidence
- a direct environmental or energy consequence
What usually creates regret:
- a general catalysis paper re-labeled as environmental
- impressive performance in model systems only
- missing durability data
- focusing on the APC before the editorial fit is credible
This is one of the clearest pages in the entire APC family where the right answer is often "do not pay anything yet; first make sure this is actually an ACB manuscript."
Submit if / Think twice if
Submit and consider paying for OA if:
- the catalyst story is genuinely about energy conversion or environmental remediation
- the benchmarking and stability package is already strong
- institutional or funder support covers most of the fee
- immediate final-version access matters for the target audience
Think twice if:
- the environmental angle was added late
- the paper is better described as general catalysis
- the manuscript still lacks realistic-condition validation
- you would be paying personally without a strong reason
Practical verdict
For Applied Catalysis B APC, the current answer is:
- gold OA: USD 5,980
- subscription: no fee charged to authors
- real bottleneck: the journal's 13% acceptance rate and hard editorial filter
So the useful planning frame is not "can we afford the APC?" It is "is this one of the small fraction of catalysis papers that actually belongs here?"
Frequently asked questions
The current Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy APC is USD 5,980 excluding taxes on the Elsevier journal insights page.
Yes. The journal is hybrid. Authors can still choose the subscription route with no publication fee charged to authors.
Elsevier currently shows a 13% acceptance rate, which makes the APC decision secondary to the journal-fit decision for most submissions.
Elsevier currently reports 5 days from submission to first decision, 27 days to decision after review, 65 days to acceptance, and 2 days from acceptance to online publication.
It is easiest to justify when the paper is already a strong environmental or energy catalysis fit, institutional funding is available, and immediate final-version access materially helps the paper's reach or compliance.
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Where to go next
Same journal, next question
- Applied Catalysis B Submission Guide: Requirements & Editor Tips
- Is Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy a Good Journal? Impact Factor, Comparison, and Fit Verdict
- Applied Catalysis B Impact Factor 2026: 21.1, Q1
- Applied Catalysis B Acceptance Rate: What Authors Can Use
- Applied Catalysis B Review Time: What Authors Can Actually Expect
- How to Avoid Desk Rejection at Applied Catalysis B (2026)
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