Energy production and storage technologies have attracted a great deal of attention for day-to-day applications. In recent decades, advances in lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology have improved living conditions around the globe. LIBs are used in most mobile electronic devices as well as in zero-emission electronic vehicles. However, there are increasing concerns regarding load leveling of renewable energy sources and the smart grid as well as the sustainability of lithium sources due to their limited availability and consequent expected price increase. Therefore, whether LIBs alone can satisfy the rising demand for small- and/or mid-to-large-format energy storage applications remains unclear. To mitigate these issues, recent research has focused on alternative energy storage systems. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered as the best candidate power sources because sodium is widely available and exhibits similar chemistry to that of LIBs; therefore, SIBs are promising next-generation alternatives. Recently, sodiated layer transition metal oxides, phosphates and organic compounds have been introduced as cathode materials for SIBs. Simultaneously, recent developments have been facilitated by the use of select carbonaceous materials, transition metal oxides (or sulfides), and intermetallic and organic compounds as anodes for SIBs. Apart from electrode materials, suitable electrolytes, additives, and binders are equally important for the development of practical SIBs. Despite developments in electrode materials and other components, there remain several challenges, including cell design and electrode balancing, in the application of sodium ion cells. In this article, we summarize and discuss current research on materials and propose future directions for SIBs. This will provide important insights into scientific and practical issues in the development of SIBs.
Daniel E. Olivares, A. Mehrizi‐Sani, A. Etemadi
et al.
The increasing interest in integrating intermittent renewable energy sources into microgrids presents major challenges from the viewpoints of reliable operation and control. In this paper, the major issues and challenges in microgrid control are discussed, and a review of state-of-the-art control strategies and trends is presented; a general overview of the main control principles (e.g., droop control, model predictive control, multi-agent systems) is also included. The paper classifies microgrid control strategies into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary, where primary and secondary levels are associated with the operation of the microgrid itself, and tertiary level pertains to the coordinated operation of the microgrid and the host grid. Each control level is discussed in detail in view of the relevant existing technical literature.
Energy harvested directly from sunlight offers a desirable approach toward fulfilling, with minimal environmental impact, the need for clean energy. Solar energy is a decentralized and inexhaustible natural resource, with the magnitude of the available solar power striking the earth’s surface at any one instant equal to 130 million 500 MW power plants.1 However, several important goals need to be met to fully utilize solar energy for the global energy demand. First, the means for solar energy conversion, storage, and distribution should be environmentally benign, i.e. protecting ecosystems instead of steadily weakening them. The next important goal is to provide a stable, constant energy flux. Due to the daily and seasonal variability in renewable energy sources such as sunlight, energy harvested from the sun needs to be efficiently converted into chemical fuel that can be stored, transported, and used upon demand. The biggest challenge is whether or not these goals can be met in a costeffective way on the terawatt scale.2
Due to its reduced communication overhead and robustness to failures, distributed energy management is of paramount importance in smart grids, especially in microgrids, which feature distributed generation (DG) and distributed storage (DS). Distributed economic dispatch for a microgrid with high renewable energy penetration and demand-side management operating in grid-connected mode is considered in this paper. To address the intrinsically stochastic availability of renewable energy sources (RES), a novel power scheduling approach is introduced. The approach involves the actual renewable energy as well as the energy traded with the main grid, so that the supply-demand balance is maintained. The optimal scheduling strategy minimizes the microgrid net cost, which includes DG and DS costs, utility of dispatchable loads, and worst-case transaction cost stemming from the uncertainty in RES. Leveraging the dual decomposition, the optimization problem formulated is solved in a distributed fashion by the local controllers of DG, DS, and dispatchable loads. Numerical results are reported to corroborate the effectiveness of the novel approach.
Thermal comfort in residential buildings is a critically important parameter for assessing the quality and sustainability of the living environment, remaining a relevant subject of scientific research. This article systematizes and analyzes specialized approaches to optimizing thermal comfort in residential spaces, taking into account the diversity of climatic regions. Based on a comparative analysis of typical residential development projects and both Chinese and international experiences, the study is structured around four climatic types: tropical, subtropical, temperate, and cold. The analysis is conducted at two levels of spatial organization: at the neighborhood scale and at the individual building scale. The focus is on a comparative assessment of key architectural urban planning and engineering technical elements: building orientation; spatial planning solutions; thermal performance characteristics of building envelopes; external shading and natural ventilation systems; integration of green spaces and water features; application of technologies based on renewable energy sources. The study identifies climatically determined implementation priorities and synergistic methods for combining these strategies. A comprehensive scheme has been developed that establishes a correlation between climatic conditions, applied methods, and their design implementations. This scheme formulates strategic recommendations for the integrated application of methods and basic principles for their adaptation, providing a foundation for climate responsive design of residential environments.
This study investigates the perception and understanding of climate-related risks among six energy-intensive and natural resource-based industry (ENRI) sectors using data from the CDP survey from 2020 to 2023. ENRI sectors, including fossil fuels; cement and concrete; chemicals; metallic smelting; refining; and forming; metallic mineral mining; and pulp and paper mills, are exposed to significant climate-related risks due to their capital-intensive activities and long investment cycles. Our analysis confirms that ENRI firms identify and report more climate-related risks with higher estimated impacts compared to other firms in some risk categories, indicating higher awareness. However, ENRI firms tend to prioritise risks with high impact and high likelihood, and likely underestimate the uncertainty and financial impacts of climate-related risks, such as stranded assets.The study highlights the need for improved climate risk governance. Investors and voluntary disclosure initiatives should encourage firms to assess and report uncertain and high-impact risks, using explorative scenarios to overcome biases. Policymakers must enhance the credibility of climate policies by implementing comprehensive measures to support industrial transformation and stricter guidelines for climate-related risk disclosure.Understanding ENRI firms' perspectives on risks is crucial for informing policy and investment decisions to ensure alignment with net-zero targets. Future research should explore factors influencing risk perception, mitigation strategies, and business opportunities, and examine firms' processes for identifying and managing climate-related risks.
Renewable energy sources, Environmental engineering