Dear Colleagues,

Existing energy systems are changing due to global drivers towards sustainable and renewable generation-based integrated systems with multi-scale flexibility needs. However, a large-scale transformation in the energy system may not be simple and straightforward. The increased use of renewable energy sources, supportive regulatory regimes, technological advancements of the recent past (such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, IoTs, vehicle to grid (V2G) and related technologies), consumers’ ability to produce as well as feed to the grid (prosumers), the incorporation of smart grid, emphasis on energy communities, the emergence of flexible energy systems and platforms will change future energy systems operation and management structures. Additionally, traditional market structures and business models need to be adapted so that they can enable the realisation of the energy transition.

An effective transition from centralised to decentralised energy systems would not only require technological solutions, but also a change in the socio-economic, political and regulatory landscape. Technology companies, regulatory bodies, transmission companies, energy aggregators, consumers and other stakeholders involved in the ecosystem will have to adapt to emerging realities. A successful transformation requires new business models, regulation, taxation and market schemes as well as new governance mechanisms, network logic and partnerships, safety and privacy regulations, and, above all, a change in mindset. This transformation in the energy system opens up a new set of opportunities for actors and stakeholders in the process, but also poses challenges and threats that may compromise their position in the value chain.

Against this background, the objective of this Special Issue is to invite scholarly contributions in the form of conceptual papers, reviews of the state of the art, and empirical papers to strengthen the scholarship in this domain, as well as provide understanding to help practitioners and policy makers. The contributions can be related to both technical and non-technical aspects of the energy systems.

The list of potential topics includes, but are not limited to:

• Active customers and prosumers;
• AI, blockchain, IoTs, V2G, smart grid, and related technologies;
• Data, security and privacy issues;
• Decentralisation of energy markets;
• Data security and privacy issues;
• Energy transition and sector-integration;
• Energy communities and smart districts and smart cities;
• Energy policies;
• Flexible energy market and platforms;
• Integration of renewables in the energy system;
• New Business models / transformation in business models;
• Peer-to-peer energy trading;
• Smart grids and electrification of the transportation;
• Transformation in marketing and communication strategies. 

Please feel free to contact guest editors in case you need more information on the topic(s) or this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Arto Rajala
Prof. Dr. Hannu Laaksonen
Dr. Shah Rukh Shakeel
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, smart grid, Vehicle to grid (V2G) and related technologies
• business models
• decentralisation of energy markets
• energy transition
• energy policy
• energy communities and network households
• flexible energy markets and platforms
• prosumers privacy and security issues
• pandemics (COVID-19)
• transformation in business operations
• technology adoption