Energy Storage Materials Submission Guide

Source: Energy Storage Materials on Elsevier, Energy Storage Materials journal insights, and Energy Storage Materials editorial board, accessed May 2026.

For a side-by-side read on how Energy Storage Materials sits against its three closest peers, compare the editorial center of gravity directly:

Most public pages describe Energy Storage Materials as a high-impact battery and storage journal. That is useful, but it does not answer the submission question that determines desk risk: is the paper a materials paper with an energy-storage application, or an energy-storage materials paper where the storage mechanism is central? The journal's public scope emphasizes materials and devices for advanced energy storage and relevant energy conversion, so the manuscript needs to show that the storage problem drives the design, characterization, and performance claims.

A strong submission makes the chain explicit. The material design should connect to structure or interface behavior. The characterization should explain why that behavior occurs. The electrochemical or device data should show why the behavior matters for storage. A paper with impressive cycling data but weak mechanism can still look shallow; a paper with elegant synthesis but no storage-specific advance can look misrouted.

A failure pattern we see is the "performance-first" manuscript: the abstract leads with capacity retention or rate capability, but the methods and mechanism sections do not explain why the material design produces that behavior. Energy Storage Materials needs the storage mechanism to carry the claim, not only the metric.

Editors specifically screen for whether the storage mechanism is visible before the performance table: the title and abstract should name the bottleneck, Figure 1 should connect material design to storage behavior, and the methods should make electrochemical protocol choices auditable.

Three operational signals govern editorial assessment:

1. Energy-storage substance. The journal requires substantive energy-storage contribution. The abstract and introduction should name the storage bottleneck, not merely list a new material.

2. Methodological rigor. Synthesis, characterization, electrochemistry, and performance evaluation must be top-tier. The editor should see reproducible synthesis, adequate controls, realistic testing conditions, and fair benchmark comparisons.

3. Mechanism understanding. Top-tier energy-storage papers combine performance with mechanistic insight such as in situ or operando characterization, interfacial analysis, degradation explanation, transport modeling, or DFT support where appropriate.

Recent issues span:

• Solid-state Li/Na batteries

• Lithium-metal anodes and Li dendrite suppression

• High-nickel cathodes and structural stability

• Beyond-lithium battery chemistries (Na, K, Mg, Zn, Al)

• Li-S and Li-O2 batteries

• Supercapacitors and hybrid devices

• Redox-flow batteries for grid storage

• AI/ML for battery discovery and optimization

For specific recent papers and article-level DOIs, use the current issue and articles-in-press pages on Energy Storage Materials on Elsevier. Do not infer fit from the DOI prefix alone; compare the abstract, Figure 1, characterization stack, cycling protocol, and mechanism discussion against the live issue mix before choosing EnSM over Journal of Power Sources, Journal of Energy Storage, ACS Energy Letters, Joule, Advanced Energy Materials, or Nature Energy.

Beyond the manuscript itself, Elsevier's Editorial Manager expects a specific set of declarations and artifacts. Missing any required item generates an administrative return before the handling editor reads the science.

The Elsevier editorial workflow moves through four observable phases. Use the windows below to calibrate when to expect a status change in Editorial Manager rather than emailing the office early.

Days 1 to 3: Editorial Manager technical check

Editorial Manager verifies file completeness, double-anonymized formatting, and that the title page is uploaded as a separate file from the anonymized manuscript. Incomplete packages bounce here before any editor sees them.

Days 3 to 10: Handling-editor scope screen

A handling editor screens for energy-storage centrality and mechanism depth, then decides whether to desk-reject, redirect to a sister venue, or send the manuscript out for review.

Days 10 to 21: Reviewer invitation and assignment

Invitations go to reviewers with matching electrochemistry and materials expertise. This is the most variable phase, since reviewer availability drives the clock.

Weeks 4 to 8: First editorial decision

The initial decision typically lands four to eight weeks after submission. Full review with revisions runs eight to fourteen weeks, usually across one to two major revision rounds, and online-first publication follows acceptance within weeks.

Across energy-storage manuscripts targeting Energy Storage Materials, three recurring decision risks matter most across submissions that ESM editors filter out at the desk-screen stage. (Per Elsevier published guidelines, ESM is an international multidisciplinary journal for advances in materials and devices for energy storage and relevant energy conversion (metal-O2 included); requires substantive energy-storage contribution with top-tier rigor in synthesis / characterization / electrochemistry / performance evaluation; combines performance with mechanistic insight as editorial bar; runs through Elsevier Editorial Manager;

Routes against AEM (broader energy materials), Joule / Nature Energy (broader energy science), Journal of Energy Chemistry (energy chemistry), ACS Energy Letters (ACS letters format), Journal of Power Sources (Elsevier electrochemical-power-source application focus).) Use the three checks below before you open Editorial Manager Energy Storage Materials upload slot.

Pure-materials manuscript without energy-storage centrality

Across Energy Storage Materials-targeted manuscripts, we consistently see authors submit work where the materials chemistry / nanostructure / synthesis is sophisticated (new MOF / COF / 2D material / single-atom catalyst / porous architecture / nanowire / hollow structure / yolk-shell / hierarchical structure) but the energy-storage application is decorative rather than load-bearing: the abstract claims "promising for batteries / supercapacitors / catalysis" but the manuscript would be valid as a general materials paper if the energy-storage framing were removed.

ESM handling editors specifically check whether the contribution:

• identifies a specific energy-storage problem the material solves (named battery chemistry limitation: capacity loss from manganese dissolution in spinel cathodes, polysulfide shuttling in Li-S, dendrite growth in Li-metal anodes, ion-transport bottleneck in solid-state electrolytes, low-rate capability in graphite anodes, voltage decay in Li-rich layered, gas evolution in Na-ion, zinc-dendrite in aqueous-zinc

• named supercapacitor limitation: low energy density, capacitance fade at high rate, electrolyte decomposition at high voltage

• named metal-O2 / metal-air problem: oxygen-reduction overpotential, electrolyte instability, peroxide / superoxide management

• named hybrid-energy-system limitation)

• demonstrates the material specifically addresses that problem (mechanistic chain connecting structural feature → electrochemical mechanism → performance improvement)

• reports performance against energy-storage-relevant metrics (specific capacity in mAh/g with named voltage window, energy density in Wh/kg or Wh/L with cell-level calculation, power density in W/kg, Coulombic efficiency over 100+ cycles, capacity retention at named C-rate, rate capability across 0.1C to 10C, full-cell vs half-cell distinction, areal loading at practical level >=3 mg/cm² for cathodes)

• validates with energy-storage characterization (galvanostatic cycling protocols, EIS at relevant states of charge, CV with appropriate scan rates, GITT for diffusion coefficients, operando XRD or Raman for structural evolution, post-mortem analysis for degradation)

Manuscripts without energy-storage centrality often belong at Chemistry of Materials (ACS fundamental materials chemistry), JACS (broad chemistry significance), Nature Materials (broader materials advance), Advanced Materials / Advanced Functional Materials (broader applied materials), ACS Nano (broad nanoscience), Small (high-IF specialty), Nanoscale (RSC nanoscience), Journal of Materials Chemistry A (RSC energy and sustainability), or specialty materials venues.

The fix is to identify the specific energy-storage problem the material solves (not "energy storage" generically), structure Figure 1 around the energy-storage problem with material as solution, ensure the abstract opens with the energy-storage advance, and benchmark against credible state-of-the-art baselines rather than weak literature controls.

Check whether your Energy Storage Materials manuscript proves storage centrality before performance claims →

Performance data without mechanistic understanding where ESM's "performance + mechanism" editorial bar is not met

We frequently see ESM manuscripts report strong electrochemical performance (high capacity, long cycle life, fast rate capability, high Coulombic efficiency) but stop at performance reporting without mechanistic explanation for why the material achieves the performance.

ESM's editorial culture explicitly pairs performance with mechanism: top-tier accepted papers demonstrate not just that the material works but why it works at the molecular / structural / interfacial / electrochemical level.

ESM reviewers specifically check whether the manuscript provides:

• mechanistic origin of the performance improvement (named structural feature linked to electrochemical mechanism: porous architecture enables electrolyte infiltration shown by BJH analysis + ionic-conductivity measurement

• doping introduces electronic-state modification shown by DFT + XPS + Raman

• coating prevents specific degradation pathway shown by post-mortem SEM / TEM / XPS comparison vs uncoated control

• structural disorder enables fast Li-ion transport shown by neutron-diffraction + NMR

• interfacial layer suppresses side reactions shown by XPS depth profiling)

• operando / in-situ characterization tracking the mechanism during cycling (operando XRD for structural evolution, operando Raman for bond evolution, operando UV-Vis for color/electronic changes, in-situ TEM for morphological changes, operando NMR for ion dynamics, EIS at relevant SOC for impedance evolution, operando XAS for oxidation-state changes)

• post-mortem analysis after cycling (SEM / TEM / XPS / Raman comparison between as-prepared and cycled material, with quantitative analysis of structural / compositional changes)

• computational support (DFT for thermodynamic / kinetic insight, MD for ion-transport, multi-scale modeling for structure-property relationship)

• explicit chain of inference from material design to mechanism to performance

Manuscripts that report performance without mechanism face revision-or-reject decisions with reviewer requests for mechanistic depth.

The fix is to design the study with mechanism investigation alongside performance measurement (not add mechanism after performance is observed), include at least one operando / in-situ characterization technique tracking the mechanism, perform post-mortem analysis comparing cycled vs as-prepared material with quantitative metrics, and structure the discussion around explicit material-design → mechanism → performance chain of inference.

Check whether your Energy Storage Materials figures connect material design to mechanism →

Wrong energy-storage sister venue

The third recurring pattern in Energy Storage Materials-targeted manuscripts is misrouting within the energy-storage / energy-materials journal landscape.

ESM handling editors specifically check whether the contribution fits ESM (energy-storage-materials-focused with materials novelty and electrochemical depth) or another venue:

• Advanced Energy Materials (Wiley, broader energy-materials scope including solar / catalysis / thermoelectric / fuel cells, higher JIF)

• Joule (Cell Press, broader energy science with stronger emphasis on quantitative analysis and energy-systems framing)

• Nature Energy (Nature-portfolio, broader energy with stronger societal-impact framing and broad-audience requirement)

• Journal of Energy Chemistry (Elsevier energy-chemistry focus including catalysis / electrolysis / energy conversion chemistry)

• ACS Energy Letters (ACS letters format for time-sensitive broad-energy work)

• Journal of Power Sources (Elsevier electrochemical-power-source application focus with stronger device-engineering emphasis)

• ACS Applied Energy Materials (ACS applied-energy with materials-novelty requirement)

• Energy & Environmental Science (RSC broader energy-and-environment with strong sustainability framing)

• Journal of Materials Chemistry A (RSC energy and sustainability materials)

• Journal of Energy Storage (Elsevier applied energy storage including thermal / mechanical / chemical storage)

• Energy (Elsevier broad energy)

• Applied Energy (Elsevier applied energy systems)

• Sustainable Energy & Fuels (RSC sustainable energy with broader scope)

• Materials Today Energy (Elsevier broad materials-and-energy with shorter format)

• Carbon Energy (Wiley carbon-based energy materials)

• Batteries & Supercaps (Wiley specialty)

• Journal of the Electrochemical Society (ECS broad electrochemistry)

• Electrochimica Acta (Elsevier electrochemistry)

• Solid State Ionics (Elsevier solid-state ionics)

• Chemistry of Materials (ACS fundamental materials chemistry with energy applications)

Manuscripts misrouted face desk redirects within 1-2 weeks.

The fix is to read 3-5 recent papers from each candidate venue before choosing, identify the contribution's center of gravity (materials novelty with electrochemical depth = ESM; broader energy-materials including non-storage = AEM; broad energy science with quantitative / systems framing = Joule / Nature Energy; energy chemistry = J. Energy Chemistry; device-engineering / power-source application = J. Power Sources; applied-energy with materials novelty = ACS AEM; applied energy storage = J. Energy Storage), and write the cover letter to justify ESM specifically over the sibling alternatives.

Check whether your Energy Storage Materials manuscript is submission-ready →

• Is Energy Storage Materials a good journal?

• Advanced Energy Materials Submission Guide

• Joule Submission Guide

• Energy Storage Materials Under Review status

Last verified: 2026-05-26 against Energy Storage Materials editorial pages.