Journal Guide
Energy Impact Factor 9.4: Publishing Guide
Research on energy production, conversion, storage, and system-level performance
9.4
Impact Factor (2024)
~40-50%
Acceptance Rate
~100-140 days median
Time to First Decision
What Energy Publishes
Energy published by Elsevier is a premier journal for energy systems research spanning production, conversion, storage, and efficiency. With JIF 9.4 and Q1 ranking in Energy & Fuels, Energy emphasizes research on practical energy technologies and systems. The journal publishes original research on fossil fuels, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable energy systems. Critically: Energy values research with practical energy system relevance. Pure material science or theoretical studies without energy system application is less competitive. The journal seeks papers demonstrating how innovations advance real energy systems.
- Renewable energy: wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal power systems
- Fossil energy: coal, oil, natural gas processing and conversion
- Energy conversion: combustion, thermodynamics, efficient conversion
- Energy storage: batteries, thermal storage, compressed air, hydrogen
- Energy efficiency: building systems, industrial processes, grid optimization
- Bioenergy: biofuels, biomass conversion, anaerobic digestion
- Energy systems analysis: modeling, lifecycle assessment, techno-economic analysis
- Smart grids and energy management systems
Editor Insight
“Energy publishes research advancing sustainable energy systems. We seek papers combining technological innovation with system-level analysis, techno-economic feasibility, and practical deployment pathway. The best papers address real energy challenges with proven solutions.”
What Energy Editors Look For
Novel energy technology or system with demonstrated performance advantage
Present energy technology showing clear benefits: improved efficiency, lower cost, greater sustainability, or enhanced reliability compared to alternatives. Quantify advantages: energy output, efficiency gains, cost reduction, CO2 reduction.
Realistic system-level analysis with practical constraints
Analyze energy in system context: grid integration, load matching, seasonal variation, infrastructure requirements. Addressing real-world system constraints strengthens papers. Lab-only optimization ignoring practical integration is weak.
Techno-economic analysis including costs and deployment feasibility
Address costs: capital, operational, maintenance. Compare levelized cost with alternatives. Discuss deployment feasibility, regulatory context, supply chain requirements. Technologically perfect but economically infeasible systems have limited impact.
Lifecycle assessment or sustainability metrics beyond simple efficiency
Analyze full lifecycle impacts: manufacturing, operation, disposal or recycling. Assess environmental impacts beyond carbon (water use, land use, material toxicity). Comprehensive sustainability assessment strengthens papers.
Validation with real-world data or operational experience
Test systems at pilot scale or with real operational data. Simulations are common but experimental validation of actual system performance significantly strengthens papers.
Why Papers Get Rejected
These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Energy's editorial review:
Optimizing energy technology in isolation without system integration
Energy systems operate in grid or infrastructure context. Address integration challenges: variability, storage requirements, grid stability. System-level thinking matters.
Claiming efficiency improvements without full lifecycle analysis
Operating efficiency alone doesn't guarantee sustainability. Manufacturing, material extraction, end-of-life treatment affect overall impact. Lifecycle perspective required.
Ignoring cost analysis or claiming cost advantages without evidence
Energy deployment decisions driven by economics. Quantify costs: capital, operational, maintenance. Compare levelized cost with existing alternatives.
Proposing energy technology without addressing deployment barriers
Technical feasibility differs from practical deployment. Address barriers: infrastructure needs, regulatory context, supply chain, geographic constraints, timeline to deployment.
Lack of comparison with existing energy systems on multiple dimensions
Show performance across dimensions: efficiency, cost, environmental impact, reliability, scalability. Multidimensional comparison more convincing than single-metric advantage.
Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?
The quick diagnostic reads your full manuscript against Energy's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.
Insider Tips from Energy Authors
Renewable energy integration and grid stability increasingly prominent
Research on renewable energy variability handling, grid integration, energy storage solutions, and demand management receives strong editorial interest as renewable deployment accelerates.
Energy storage and batteries driving significant innovation discussion
Battery and energy storage technology research enabling renewable integration is scientifically prominent. Flow batteries, compressed air storage, and thermal storage all competitive.
District heating/cooling and building systems efficiency valued
Building energy systems optimization, district heating, thermal storage, and energy efficiency retrofits receive strong interest as buildings are major energy consumers.
Circular economy and material recovery from energy systems
Research showing how energy system waste (heat recovery, material recycling) can be valorized increasingly competitive as sustainability focus grows.
Energy access and distributed systems for developing regions
Decentralized, off-grid energy systems enabling access in resource-limited regions increasingly valued in energy research.
The Energy Submission Process
Manuscript preparation
Prep8,000-12,000 words with 6-10 figures. Include technology description, performance metrics, system-level analysis, techno-economic evaluation, lifecycle assessment, deployment feasibility discussion, and comparison with existing systems. Supporting: detailed calculations, system diagrams, cost breakdowns.
Submission via Elsevier system
Day 0Submit at https://www.editorialmanager.com/ENERGY/. Required: manuscript emphasizing energy significance and system-level impact, figures showing performance and cost comparison, cover letter highlighting sustainability or efficiency advantages.
Editorial assessment
1-2 weeksEditor assesses energy significance, system-level thinking, and practical feasibility. Papers lacking energy context or cost analysis face lower priority. Moderate desk rejection ~25-35%.
Peer review
100-140 days2-3 energy experts assess technology novelty, system integration, economic analysis, and practical significance. Reviewers often include industry experts. First decision 100-140 days.
Revision and publication
Revision: 4-8 weeksRevisions often request additional techno-economic analysis, system integration discussion, or deployment feasibility clarification. Publication 2-4 weeks after acceptance.
Energy by the Numbers
| 2024 Impact Factor | 8.4 |
| 5-Year Impact Factor | 8.9 |
| Acceptance rate | ~40-50% |
| Desk rejection rate | ~25-35% |
| Median first decision | ~120 days |
| Open access option | $3,200 USD |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Founded | 1976 |
Before you submit
Energy accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.
The pre-submission diagnostic runs a live literature search, scores your manuscript section by section, and gives you a prioritized fix list calibrated to Energy. ~30 minutes.
Article Types
Article
8,000-12,000 wordsEnergy technology with system-level analysis
Review
12,000-18,000 wordsComprehensive energy technology review
Short Communication
4,000-6,000 wordsFocused energy technology finding
Landmark Energy Papers
Papers that defined fields and changed science:
- Renewable energy integration studies (2000s+) - enabled wind/solar scaling
- Battery thermal management (2000s+) - critical for EV adoption
- Grid modernization and smart grids (2010s+) - flexibility for renewables
- Lifecycle assessment frameworks (1990s+) - true sustainability evaluation
- District energy systems (various) - efficient heating/cooling distribution
Preparing a Energy Submission?
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Primary Fields
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