Frontiers in Energy, a journal of transactions of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), is a peer-reviewed international journal launched by Higher Education Press, CAE, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, co-published by Higher Education Press and Springer. It fosters rapid communication and dialogue among researchers, scientists, engineers, and policymakers working in the fields of energy and power engineering. Indexed by SCI, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, CSCD, etc., Frontiers in Energy enjoys a broad readership both in China and internationally.
As the global push toward a circular carbon economy intensifies, innovative decarbonization strategies are urgently needed to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals. Solar refinery has emerged a promising pathway that directly converts CO2, biomass, and plastic waste into green fuels and value-added chemicals using solar energy as the primary input.
This Special Issue, titled “Beyond Fossil Fuels: Solar Refinery for Carbon Recycling,” aims to highlight cutting-edge research in this rapidly advancing field. We seek original and impactful contributions that explore the direct use of solar energy—via photothermal, photochemical, or photovoltaic-electrochemical processes—to valorize three key carbon-rich feedstocks: CO2, biomass, and plastic waste.
We invite the submission of a variety of manuscript types, including Original Articles, Communications, Full Papers, Minireviews/Reviews, Viewpoints, News & Highlights, Perspectives that address both fundamental and applied challenges in the solar refinery domain.
All manuscripts will undergo rigorous peer review. Accepted manuscripts will be published open access with no article processing charges or publication fees.
Topics of Interest Include:
1. Solar Refinery for CO2 Conversion
Development of novel catalysts, devices, and systems for solar-driven CO2 conversion; advanced characterization techniques; mechanistic and systems-level studies.
2. Solar Refinery for Biomass Valorization
Solar-assisted conversion of biomass (including platform molecules, lignocellulosic biomass, and organic waste from forestry, agriculture, domestic, and industrial sources); mechanistic insights and advanced characterization.
3. Solar Refinery for Plastic Waste Upcycling
Solar-driven processes and technologies for upcycling plastic wastes; innovations in catalyst design; operando and in situ characterization; mechanistic investigations.
4. AI + Solar Refinery
Integration of artificial intelligence in the development of solar refinery technologies—from the precise design and manufacturing of photocatalysts/devices to smart energy management; techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of solar-driven carbon conversion.
Guest Editors
Prof. Dr. Jin Zhong Zhang, University of California, Santa Cruz, U.S.
Email: zhang@ucsc.edu
Prof. Dr. Yujie Xiong, University of Science and Technology, China
Email: yjxiong@ustc.edu.cn
Prof. Seong-Ju Hwang, Yonsei University, South Korea
Email: hwangsju@yonsei.ac.kr
Prof. Ying Zhou, Southwest Petroleum University, China
Email: yzhou@swpu.edu.cn
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Baowen Zhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Email: zhoubw@sjtu.edu.cn
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hui Zhou, Tsinghua University
Email: huizhou@tsinghua.edu.cn
Assist. Prof. Dr. Xu Lu, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Email: xu.lu@kaust.edu.sa
Submission Information:
Submission Website: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fie
Author Guidelines: www.springer.com/11708.
Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026
Important: When submitting your manuscript, please be sure to select “Special Issue: Beyond Fossil Fuels: Solar Refinery for Carbon Recycling” as the “Article Type” to ensure proper consideration for this issue.
Contact for Inquiries:
For questions and more information, please contact Dr. Ruiqin Liu from the editorial office:
Email: rqliu@sjtu.edu.cn.