Energy Impact Factor

Energy has actually been on an upward trend, moving from 7.1 in 2020 to 9.4 in 2024. That is the opposite of the post-pandemic decline seen in many journals. The likely driver is growing research and citation activity in renewable energy, energy storage, and energy systems modeling, all of which fall squarely within the journal's scope.

For authors, the rising JIF suggests the journal is becoming more competitive. Papers published here are getting cited more frequently, which means the editorial bar is likely rising alongside the metric.

Energy's 9.4 JIF places it in the strong mid-to-upper tier of energy publishing. It is below Applied Energy (11.0) and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (16.3), but well above most specialty energy engineering titles. The journal's broad scope is its defining characteristic: it accepts work on energy conversion, thermodynamics, energy economics, renewable systems, and related topics.

That breadth is a double-edged feature. It means the journal can accommodate a wide range of energy research, but it also means the audience for any individual paper may be less concentrated than at a more specialized venue. A paper on solar cell materials will compete for reader attention alongside papers on grid optimization and fossil fuel processing.

Energy editors want research that advances understanding of energy systems, conversion, or technology. That means:

• clear energy relevance, not tangential connection to an energy topic
• methodology that is rigorous enough to be reproducible
• results with broader significance beyond one narrow configuration
• proper contextualization within the energy literature

The journal's broad scope means it is less strict about subdiscipline fit than specialized energy journals, but it still expects the energy contribution to be the paper's central theme.

Submit if:

• the paper has broad energy engineering or conversion content
• the work straddles multiple energy subdisciplines
• you want an established Elsevier energy venue with strong indexing
• the manuscript is competitive within the Q1 energy tier

Think twice if:

• Applied Energy or a more specialized energy venue would be a better fit
• the energy angle is peripheral to the paper's main contribution
• a review-focused journal like RSER would better serve a review manuscript
• the paper's strongest audience is in one specific energy subdiscipline

A pre-submission review can help position energy manuscripts across this competitive landscape.

It does not tell you whether Applied Energy, Fuel, or a specialty energy journal would give the paper better-targeted visibility. The JIF places Energy correctly as a strong broad-scope energy venue. The submission decision should be about scope match and audience fit, not about choosing whichever journal has the highest number.