Applied Energy Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

Applied Energy uses a structured approach to abstracts, though the structure is flexible.

• Word limit: 200 words for research articles, 100 for short communications
• Structure: Elsevier doesn't mandate specific subheadings, but the abstract should cover purpose, methodology, main results, and conclusions
• Citations: Not recommended in the abstract
• Keywords: 4 to 6 keywords required, listed immediately after the abstract
• Abbreviations: Define at first use in the abstract; redefine in the body text

The 200-word abstract should be self-contained. Applied Energy papers are indexed on ScienceDirect and Scopus, and many readers will only see the abstract. Include specific quantitative results when possible. Instead of "efficiency was improved," write "efficiency increased from 32.1% to 38.7%."

Keywords matter more than you'd think for Applied Energy because the journal covers such a broad scope. Choosing the right keywords helps the editorial office assign appropriate reviewers. Use specific technical terms rather than general ones. "Solid oxide fuel cell degradation" is better than "fuel cells" or "energy conversion."

Applied Energy follows Elsevier's standard figure requirements, which are consistent across most Elsevier journals.

Figure specifications:

There's no formal limit on the number of figures or tables in Applied Energy. The practical constraint is the word limit and page count. Most published papers include 6 to 12 figures and 2 to 4 tables. The journal is generous with display items compared to letters journals.

Graphical abstract: Optional but encouraged. Applied Energy displays graphical abstracts on ScienceDirect article pages and uses them for social media promotion. The specification is a single image at 531 x 1328 pixels minimum (height x width ratio approximately 1:2.5). Don't cram text into the graphical abstract. A clean schematic or key result figure works best.

Color figures are free in the online version. Print color incurs a charge, but since most readers access Applied Energy digitally, this is rarely relevant. Always ensure figures are legible in grayscale as a backup.

Applied Energy uses Elsevier's standard numbered citation style.

In-text citations: Bracketed numbers (e.g., "as reported [1,2]"). Numbers are assigned in the order references first appear. For ranges, use [1-3] rather than [1,2,3]. Multiple non-consecutive references are separated by commas: [1,4,7].

Reference list format:

[1] A.B. Author, C.D. Author, Title of article, Journal Name Abbreviation Volume (Year) Pages.

Key formatting details for Elsevier style:

• Author names: Initials followed by surname (e.g., "J.K. Smith"). No periods between initials.
• Article titles are included in the reference.
• Journal titles abbreviated per standard conventions.
• Volume number in bold, followed by year in parentheses.
• Page ranges with an en dash.
• DOIs are required when available. Format: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
• For books: Author, Title, Publisher, City, Year.

There's no formal cap on reference count, but most research articles in Applied Energy cite 40 to 60 references. Reviews may cite 100 or more. The key is that every reference serves a purpose. Editors at this level notice citation padding.

Applied Energy requires that all references be accessible. Conference papers, internal reports, and unpublished data should be minimized. If you cite a conference paper, make sure it's available through a DOI or permanent URL.

Applied Energy supports supplementary material through Elsevier's standard system.

What goes in supplementary material:

• Extended datasets and tables
• Additional figures (e.g., sensitivity analyses, parametric sweeps)
• Derivations and mathematical details
• Code, models, and simulation details
• Multimedia files (videos of experiments, animated results)

Supplementary material is submitted as separate files through the Elsevier Editorial Manager system. Each file should be clearly labeled (e.g., "Supplementary Figure S1") and referenced in the main text.

Elsevier hosts supplementary files alongside the article on ScienceDirect. They're freely accessible to readers and go through peer review. There's a 50 MB limit per individual file. For larger datasets, use a public repository (Mendeley Data, Zenodo, Dryad) and include the DOI in the paper.

One important distinction: Applied Energy considers the supplementary material part of the peer-reviewed record. You can't add supplementary files after acceptance. Plan your supplementary content from the start.

Data in Brief: Elsevier offers a companion option called Data in Brief, where you can publish your dataset as a standalone data article linked to your Applied Energy paper. This gives the data its own DOI, citation record, and visibility. It's worth considering if your dataset has reuse value beyond your specific study.

These details are specific to Applied Energy and trip up first-time submitters:

Highlights are mandatory and strictly formatted. Each highlight must be 85 characters or fewer, including spaces. That's about 12-15 words per highlight. You need 3 to 5 of them. Highlights should convey the novelty and main findings, not restate the methodology. The 85-character limit is enforced by the submission system and it will reject highlights that exceed it.

Nomenclature section. Applied Energy requires a nomenclature/notation list for papers that use many symbols. This appears after the abstract and keywords, before the introduction. Use a two-column format with symbols on the left and descriptions on the right. Greek letters and subscripts/superscripts should be grouped separately.

Elsevier's "Your Paper Your Way" policy. For initial submission, Applied Energy follows Elsevier's relaxed formatting policy. You can submit in any reasonable format for the first round. Strict formatting compliance is only required at the revision stage. This means your reference format, figure placement, and layout don't need to be perfect for the initial submission.

CRediT author statement. Required for all submissions. Each author's contribution must be described using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system. This is submitted as a separate statement, not embedded in the manuscript.

Declaration of competing interests. Mandatory. All authors must declare any financial or personal relationships that could influence the work. Even if there are no conflicts, a statement saying so is required.

Funding information. Must be provided in a standardized format through the submission system. Elsevier links funding data to the Crossref Funder Registry for indexing.

These come up repeatedly in Applied Energy technical checks:

1. Highlights character count. Authors consistently exceed the 85-character limit. Count carefully. Spaces count. Punctuation counts. The system will reject your submission if any highlight exceeds the limit.

1. Keyword overlap with title. Elsevier recommends that keywords don't simply repeat words from the title. Use synonyms or more specific terms that complement the title.

1. Figure quality at revision. Initial submission can use embedded lower-resolution figures. At revision, separate high-resolution files are mandatory. Authors who embed all figures and don't keep originals have to recreate them, which delays the process.

1. Nomenclature completeness. Every symbol used in equations must appear in the nomenclature list. Reviewers will flag missing entries.

1. Data availability statement. Now required for all Elsevier journals, including Applied Energy. State where data can be accessed or that it's available on request.