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Summary: This reprint, as a continuation of a previous Special Issue entitled "Efficiency and Optimization of Buildings Energy Consumption", gives an up-to-date overview of new technologies based on Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) procedures to improve the mathematical approach of algorithms that allow control systems to be improved with the aim of reducing housing sector energy consumption.

Summary: Processing and Conversion of Oil and Gas: Modeling, Control, Simulation, and Optimization describes the core of the activity of petrochemical engineers, process controller engineers, industrial engineers, energy engineers, and researchers in the oil and gas field. This reprint explores the modeling, control, simulation, and optimization of new and revamped petrochemical processes using proven software. Thus, it offers novel illustrative examples, prospective applications, and solutions to improve these processes. This reprint aims to combine theoretical principles with examples modeled by commonly used simulation software employing steady-state or dynamic process simulation. Furthermore, applying numerical methods and optimization at both the theoretical and practical levels is within the scope of this reprint.

Summary: Manufacturing, Machines, Tools; Sustainable Development; Energy Efficiency; Production

Summary: Transportation systems play a major role in the reduction of energy consumptions and environmental impact all over the world. The significant amount of energy of transport systems forces the adoption of new solutions to ensure their performance with energy-saving and reduced environmental impact. In this context, technologies and materials, devices and systems, design methods, and management techniques, related to the electrical power systems for transportation are continuously improving thanks to research activities. The main common challenge in all the applications concerns the adoption of innovative solutions that can improve existing transportation systems in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

Summary: Information and communication technology (ICT) is reponsible for up to 10% of world power consumption. In particular, communications and computing systems are indispensable elements in ICT; thus, determining how to improve the energy efficiency in communications and computing systems has become one of the most important issues for realizing green ICT. Even though a number of studies have been conducted, most of them focused on one aspect-either communications or computing systems. However, salient features in communications and computing systems should be jointly considered, and novel holistic approaches across communications and computing systems are strongly required to implement energy-efficient systems. In addition, emerging systems, such as energy-harvesting IoT devices, cyber-physical systems (CPSs), autonomous vehicles (AVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), require new approaches to satisfy their strict energy consumption requirements in mission-critical situations. The goal of this Special Issue is to disseminate the recent advances in energy-efficient communications and computing systems. Review and survey papers on these topics are welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following: • energy-efficient communications: from physical layer to application layer; • energy-efficient computing systems; • energy-efficient network architecture: through SDN/NFV/network slicing; • energy-efficient system design; • energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT); • energy-efficient edge/fog/cloud computing; • new approaches for energy-efficient computing and communications (e.g., AI/ML and data-driven approaches); • new performance metrics on energy efficiency in emerging systems; • energy harvesting and simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT); • smart grid and vehicle-to-grid (V2G); and • standardization and open source activities for energy efficient systems.

Summary: This book explores how the concepts, methods and tools of systemic analyses have been utilised in various contexts, and at different levels, to improve the efficiency and optimisation of sustainable energy systems.

Summary: In the competitive business environment or public domain, the sustainability assessment in supply chain and infrastructure management are important for any organization. Organizations are currently striving to improve their sustainable strategies through preparedness, response, and recovery because of increasing competitiveness, community, and regulatory pressure. Thus, it is necessary to develop a meaningful and more focused understanding of sustainability in supply chain management and infrastructure management practices. In the context of a supply chain, sustainability implies that companies identify, assess, and manage impacts and risks in all the echelons of the supply chain, considering downstream and upstream activities. Similarly, the sustainable infrastructure management indicates the ability of infrastructure to meet the requirements of the present without sacrificing the ability of future generations to address their needs. The complexities regarding sustainable supply chain and infrastructure management have driven managers and professionals to seek different solutions. This Special Issue aims to provide readers with the most recent research results on the aforementioned subjects. In addition, it offers some solutions and also raises some questions for further research and development toward sustainable supply chain and infrastructure management.

Summary: Wireless sensor networks, due to their various applications in many fields and limited power consumption, have attracted much attention recently. Most previous methods have focused on providing energy-saving strategies to elevate the lifetime of sensor networks. Another aggressive but different approach is to wirelessly recharge sensor nodes to increase the lifetime of the sensor networks. This book collects articles that address state-of-the-art technologies and new developments for wireless rechargeable sensor networks (WRSNs), including the latest hot topics such as charger deployment, charger scheduling, wireless energy transfer, mobile charger design, energy-harvesting technique, and energy provisioning. We believe that the accepted articles present the most up-to-date progress in algorithms and theory for robust wireless sensor networks with respect to different networking problems.

Summary: This Special Issue (SI) deals with different end-users' perspectives on newly developed energy policy and technology. Although the importance of end-users' preferences is not totally new to the energy sector, this issue needs to be urgently and consistently addressed if new policies, projects, and technologies are to be introduced successfully. The eight papers included in this SI are focused on various issues such as modeling the future energy demand, household energy consumption behavior, public perceptions of new energy technologies and projects, and ICT-energy efficiency interrelationship. Some papers also analyze end-users' experiences with recently introduced energy technologies. Based on these eight articles with various topics, this SI will provide fruitful insights in assessing and forecasting the evolution of the future energy sector. I hope this SI can contribute to the increase in communication and cooperation among academic researchers as well as practitioners in energy fields.

Summary: Material loss due to wear and corrosion and high resistance to motion generate high costs. Therefore, minimizing friction and wear is a problem of great importance. This book is focused on the tribological behavior of functional surfaces. It contains information regarding the improvement of tribological properties of sliding elements via changes in surface topography. Tribological impacts of surface texturing depending on the creation of dimples on co-acting surfaces are also discussed. The effects of various coatings on the minimization of friction and wear and corrosion resistance are also studied. Friction can be also reduced by introducing a new oil.

Summary: Electrical machines and drives dominate our everyday lives. This is due to their numerous applications in industry, power production, home appliances, and transportation systems such as electric and hybrid electric vehicles, ships, and aircrafts. Their development follows rapid advances in science, engineering, and technology. Researchers around the world are extensively investigating electrical machines and drives because of their reliability, efficiency, performance, and fault-tolerant structure. In particular, there is a focus on the importance of utilizing these new trends in technology for energy saving and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This Special Issue will provide the platform for researchers to present their recent work on advances in the field of electrical machines and drives, including special machines and their applications; new materials, including the insulation of electrical machines; new trends in diagnostics and condition monitoring; power electronics, control schemes, and algorithms for electrical drives; new topologies; and innovative applications.

Summary: Macroeconomics/Monetary Economics//Financial Economics; Finance, general; Environmental Economics; Development Finance; Energy Efficiency; Environmental Finance; Green Energy Finance; Renewable Energy

Summary: Buildings are responsible for almost one third of global energy consumption. The building and construction sector could thus make a significant contribution to the communal effort needed to meet the Paris Agreement that would substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. Given the importance of decarbonizing buildings and making them energy efficient in order to meet the Paris Agreement, and bearing in mind the promising role of biomimetic solutions in achieving this goal, this book reports on some recent research in the field related to bio-inspired approaches for reducing building energy use. This book includes a review of the use of biomimicry in modern building design; how both the Saharan ant and the zebra have inspired strategies for reducing energy use in Panama City; how the study of biomimetics can contribute to city regeneration; the description of a method to connect the thermal physiology of plants and animals to thermal challenges in buildings; how biomimicry could contribute to creating a circular economy in the construction sector; and how advances in electricity storage could benefit from a biomimetic approach. This book thus covers a combination of research and review articles to offer a glimpse into current biomimetic design strategies together with new directions for future research.

Summary: Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological footprint by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. We consume more resources than the planet can generate, and growing rates of pollution and waste only worsen the problem. In this context, globally, a significant number of frameworks and programs on sustainable consumption and production have been introduced. Most of them concern the environmentally sound management of energy and raw materials and all wastes throughout their life cycle; the substantially reduce of waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse; the adoption of sustainable practices and the integration of sustainability information into their reporting cycle; the promotion of procurement practices that are sustainable; the enhancement of scientific and technological capacity intending to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production etc. This reprint" Sustainable Production and Environmentally Responsible Consumption" takes a broad view of all these issues and aimed to inform about ways contributing to sustainable consumption and production by reducing our environmental impact, promoting the use of renewable sources of energy and encouraging responsible purchasing decisions.

Summary: Energies is open to submissions for a Special Issue on "Renewable Energy Production from Energy Crops and Agricultural Residues". Biomass represents an important source of renewable and sustainable energy production. Its increasing consumption is mainly related to the increase in global energy demand and fossil fuel prices, but also to a lower environmental impact compared to non-renewable fuels. These factors take RED II directives into consideration. In the past, forestry interventions were the main supply source of biomass, but in recent decades two others sources have entered the international scene. These are dedicated energy crops and agricultural residues, which are important sources of biomass for biofuel and bioenergy. Below, we consider four main value chains: • Oil crops: Oil production from non-food oilseed crops (such as camelina, Crambe, safflower, castor, cuphea, cardoon, etc.), oil extraction, and oil utilization for fuel production. • Lignocellulosic crops: Biomass production from perennial grasses (miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass, reed canary grass, etc.), woody crops (willow, poplar, Robinia, eucalyptus, etc.), and agricultural residues (pruning, maize cob, maize stalks, wheat chaff, sugar cane straw, etc.), considering two main transformation systems: 1. Electricity/heat production 2. Second-generation ethanol production • Carbohydrate crops (cereals, sweet sorghum, sugar beets, sugar cane, etc.) for ethanol production. • Fermentable crops (maize, barley, triticale, Sudan grass, sorghum, etc.) and agricultural residues (chaff, maize stalks and cob, fruit and vegetable waste, etc.) for production of biogas and/or biomethane.

Summary: The book is a collection of scientific contributions that highlight how scientific and technological evolution can change the paradigm of organic waste as an environmental problem into a renewable resource of energy and materials. Numerous researchers and research institutions that are located in different countries with varying levels of socio-economic development and other traditions were involved in this work. The materials that were considered include household waste, including human excreta and those generated by typical urban activities. The organic waste was derived from the agro-industrial sector and from packaging labelled as being biodegradable. Problems related to the detoxification of aquatic plants are discussed and the use of these plants for their ability to produce biomethane is documented simultaneously. An organic waste management strategy that was developed in the Albania context is also presented and discussed. Anaerobic digestion is one of the most widely studied technologies in this field, and this process is responsible for the production of biogas or methane, even in fossil resource-rich countries. On the other hand, aerobic fermentation is considered for the degradation of very toxic organic substances that can be dissolved into aqueous solutions that aid in the recovery of valuable materials from electrical and electronic equipment that do not have further use. There are a wide range of arguments and experiences that support the use of waste as a resource through disposal with simultaneous energy enhancement and the production of new materials, thus limiting the use of non-renewable resources for more sustainable development for the benefit of future generations.

Summary: In recent years, the scientific community's interest towards efficient energy conversion systems has significantly increased. One of the reasons is certainly related to the change in the temperature of the planet, which appears to have increased by 0.76 °C with respect to pre-industrial levels, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and this trend has not yet been stopped. The European Union considers it vital to prevent global warming from exceeding 2 °C with respect to pre-industrial levels, since this phenomenon has been proven to result in irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes. These climate changes are mainly caused by the emissions of greenhouse gasses related to human activities, and can be drastically reduced by employing energy systems, for both heating and cooling of buildings and for power production, characterized by high efficiency levels and/or based on renewable energy sources. This Special Issue, published in the journal Energies, includes 12 contributions from across the world, including a wide range of applications, such as HT-PEMFC, district heating systems, a thermoelectric generator for industrial waste, artificial ground freezing, nanofluids, and others.

Summary: The circular economy, as a new business model that is different from the economy, can achieve the reuse and recycling of waste for waste minimization, improve the efficiency of resource utilization, and mitigate carbon emissions. It is no doubt that promoting the development of the circular economy can facilitate the transition to low-carbon processes and carbon-neutral development. However, there are still several questions that need to be answered: (1) How can the circular economy contribute to a low-carbon transition? (2) How do we address the fact that the circular economy model may also cause some new environmental problems, and how should we identify what the most environmentally friendly solution is among multiple alternatives for the circular economy? (3) Governmental regulation, policies and incentives play a significant role in promoting the development of the circular economy, so what are the policy instruments that can contribute to its development? (4) How can technological progress and solutions contribute to the circular economy? (5) How can environmental impact assessments contribute to the circular economy? (6) How can we achieve a circular economy or low-carbon transition through changes in consumption behaviors? In order to answer the above-mentioned questions, we launched a Special Issue in Energies. There are a total of six papers published in this Special Issue. This e-book collects these papers to build a platform for sharing advanced concepts, tools and methods for the users to take actions to achieve a circular economy.

Summary: Providing the security of a broad-based energy and slowing the speed of climate change are the main challenges today of the basic of legal framework to stimulate the development of alternative energy sources. Energy from renewable sources is one part of the system, which not only enables to provide energy self-sufficiency, but also contributes to the reduction heating of the Earth's atmosphere. International climate agreements indicate the need to intensify the prevention of global warming and accelerate the reduction in CO2 emissions. The implementation of such challenging plans as outlined in the European Green Deal or "Fit for 55," among others, entails the almost complete elimination of GHG emissions in the energy sector, which can be very challenging for some member states. In the EU, the preferred direction of development of RES use is distributed generation and increasing the share of the use of by-products and organic waste for the production biofuels. This creates great opportunities for rural areas, which until the last century were identified with agriculture and the production of food or raw materials. While the role of agriculture will not diminish, as incomes are rising in relatively poor countries with a high elasticity of demand for food, these areas will increasingly perform a number of other important functions as well. The production of energy raw materials and energy, which is no longer a mere idea, but is becoming, thanks to the development of new technologies, a mainstream energy sector that can make contribution to improving energy security and achieving climate neutrality.

Summary: Geothermal energy is a renewable, sustainable, and ecologically friendly resource of energy that can be captured with shallow or deep installations, or a combination of both-alone or integrated with other technologies. It can then be employed for a variety of purposes, for example, electricity generation, space heating and cooling, agriculture, and aquaculture. Given the nature/features of this green energy resource-such as being a local, climate-independent, potentially constant, robust, generally available, resilient, almost greenhouse gas-free, and long-lived energy source-geothermal solutions can and should make a more prominent contribution to the future global energy supply mix, in addition to helping lessen humanity's environmental footprint and enabling it to attain its sustainable development goals. This Special Issue, "New Trends in Enhanced, Hybrid and Integrated Geothermal Systems", addresses existing knowledge gaps and aids advance deployment of geothermal energy globally. It consists of eight peer-reviewed papers that cover a range of subjects and applications related to geothermal energy.

Summary: Open data and policy implications coming from data-aware planning entail collection and pre- and postprocessing as operations of primary interest. Before these steps, making data available to people and their decision-makers is a crucial point. Referring to the relationship between data and energy, public administrations, governments, and research bodies are promoting the construction of reliable and robust datasets to pursue policies coherent with the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to allow citizens to make informed choices. Energy engineers and planners must provide the simplest and most robust tools to collect, process, and analyze data in order to offer solid data-based evidence for future projections in building, district, and regional systems planning. This Special Issue aims at providing the state-of-the-art on open-energy data analytics; its availability in the different contexts, i.e., country peculiarities; and its availability at different scales, i.e., building, district, and regional for data-aware planning and policy-making. For all the aforementioned reasons, we encourage researchers to share their original works on the field of open data and energy analytics. Topics of primary interest include but are not limited to the following: 1. Open data and energy sustainability; 2. Open data science and energy planning; 3. Open science and open governance for sustainable development goals; 4. Key performance indicators of data-aware energy modelling, planning, and policy; 5. Energy, water, and sustainability database for building, district, and regional systems; 6. Best practices and case studies.

Summary: The sustainable development of our planet depends on the use of energy. The growing population of the world inevitably causes an increase in the demand for energy, which, on the one hand, threatens the potential for shortages of energy supply, and, on the other hand, causes the deterioration of the environment.Therefore, our task is to reduce this demand through different innovative solutions (i.e., both technological and social). Social marketing and economic policies can also play a role in affecting the behavior of households and companies, by causing behavioral change oriented to energy stewardship, and an overall switch to renewable energy resources. This book provides a platform for the exchange of a wide range of ideas, which, ultimately, would facilitate the driving of societies to long-term energy efficiency.

Summary: There is increasingly intensive research for energy storage technologies development due to the enhanced energy needs of the contemporary societies. Increased global energy consumption results in the reduction in the availability of traditional energy resources, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new systems development based on the conversion and storage of sustainable and clean energy. Phase change materials (PCMs) are one of the key components for the development of advanced sustainable solutions in renewable energy and engineering systems. In order to update the field of renewable energy and engineering systems with the use of PCMs, a Special Issue entitled "Phase Change Materials: Design and Applications" is introduced. This book gathers and reviews the collection of ten contributions (nine articles and one review), with authors from Europe, Asia and Americam accepted for publication in the aforementioned Special Issue of Applied Sciences.

Summary: This Special Issue includes 20 contributions from across the world with very interesting and current research topics, such as insulation solutions and CO2 emissions; thermal transmittance of LSF walls; statistics for China's building energy consumption; natural ventilation; thermal behavior of an earthbag building; thermal performance and comfort in a vernacular building; overheating risk under future extreme weather conditions; analytical methods to estimate the thermal transmittance of LSF walls; model simplification on energy and comfort simulation analysis; Trombe wall thermal behavior and energy efficiency of an LSF compartment; new metering hot box for in situ hygrothermal measurement; mechanical and thermal performance of compressed earth blocks; life-cycle assessment of a new house; energy analyses of Serbian buildings with horizontal overhangs; thermal properties of mortar blocks by using recycled glass; prediction of cooling energy consumption building using machine learning techniques; occupants' behavior, climate change, heating, and cooling energy needs of buildings; a new method for establishing a hygrothermally controlled test room; nonintrusive measurements to incorporate the air renovations in dynamic models; and retrofit of existing buildings with aerogel panels.

Summary: This Special Issue collected original contributions, both research papers and reviews, showing recent results and/or positive advances in the behavior of new sustainable bio-materials under applied mechanical stress, both in static and dynamic mode, and evaluating the characteristics of resistance, moduli and/or viscoelasticity, in view of potential applications, such as tissue engineering, medical devices, surgical or dental implants, manufacturing of human parts, agriculture, packaging, textiles, electronics, automotive and aerospace, green buildings, and architecture and construction.

Summary: With the announcement of the European Green Deal, which defines a set of policy initiatives aimed at achieving a 50-55% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and making Europe climate neutral in 2050, the challenge of energy transition becomes even more critical. The transformation of national energy systems towards sustainability is progressing throughout all Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, yet the goals and results are different. Most EU Member States have made substantial progress towards meeting their long-term commitments of emissions reductions. However, some bloc members have struggled to meet their obligations. An effective energy transition requires the introduction of appropriately designed policy instruments and of robust economic analyses that ensure the best possible outcomes at the lowest costs for society. In this context, this Special Issue aims to bring into the discussion the challenges that CEE countries have to face and overcome while undergoing energy transition.

Summary: The electrical demands in several countries around the world are increasing due to the huge energy requirements of prosperous economies and the human activities of modern life. In order to economically transfer electrical powers from the generation side to the demand side, these powers need to be transferred at high-voltage levels through suitable transmission systems and power substations. To this end, high-voltage transmission systems and power substations are in demand. Actually, they are at the heart of interconnected power systems, in which any faults might lead to unsuitable consequences, abnormal operation situations, security issues, and even power cuts and blackouts. In order to cope with the ever-increasing operation and control complexity and security in interconnected high-voltage power systems, new architectures, concepts, algorithms, and procedures are essential. This book aims to encourage researchers to address the technical issues and research gaps in high-voltage transmission systems and power substations in modern energy systems.

Summary: This book focuses on the much-needed efforts to design sustainable, well-being-oriented economies, based on appropriate energy use in all sectors of a country´s development. Carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and effectiveness, renewable energies, circular economy strategies, environmental consequences of energy use, engagement and empowerment of local communities in decision making, energy and environmental impacts of consumer behavior, and finally science-based approaches towards sustainable production and consumption are the main focus of the research activities described within this book. An effort to go beyond energy scarcity, to promote energy communities, to explore new technologies, and overall, to understand and address the population-lifestyle-energy nexus towards increased and shared well-being is the final result jointly provided by the book authors. All in all, the aim is for the book to be the starting point of a deeper research and understanding of the importance of a radical improvement in energy use in society, beyond considering energy as just a resource in the world market. Circular economy aspects are also investigated, showing the energy saving potential associated with the appropriate design and recovery of material resources.

Summary: The world needs an accelerated energy transition to meet sustainable development goals. Energy planning has a critical role in providing the information that can guide decision-makers, and energy planning methods continue to evolve rapidly. This Special Issue provides new insights for long-term energy planning, drawing on the Clean Energy Ministerial Long Term Energy Planning Scenarios initiative and the IRENA LTES network.

Summary: In October 2014, the EU leaders agreed upon three key targets for the year 2030: a reduction by at least 40% in greenhouse gas emissions, savings of at least 27% for renewable energy, and improvements by at least 27% in energy efficiency. The increase in computational power combined with advanced modeling and simulation tools makes it possible to derive new technological solutions that can enhance the energy efficiency of systems and that can reduce the ecological footprint. This book compiles 10 novel research works from a Special Issue that was focused on data-driven approaches, machine learning, or artificial intelligence for the modeling, simulation, and optimization of energy systems.

Summary: Natural World Heritage sites, such as the Serengeti, or Natural and Cultural Heritage sites, such as the Historic Centre of Rome, have the common feature of being a treasured resource of global importance. The 1121 properties on the World Heritage (WH) list have permanent recognized value for humankind. Most of those >1000 locations are at some risk from changes in climate. Globally, scholars and managers seek to understand current and future climatic stresses, mitigation and adaptation opportunities. There is a strong need for the "So What?" in World Heritage studies. The invited papers in this volume address natural, cultural and mixed WH sites, and each offers a fresh perspective on assessing the degree of risk from changing climate and guidance on acting to mitigate and adapt to climate changes to provide new awareness and tools to improve their state of conservation for the future.

Summary: To address the increasingly prominent environmental pollution and energy shortage, many countries devote themselves to green manufacturing and logistics in which some optimization problems are common and challenging, e.g., production planning and scheduling, supply chain management, location and allocation problems, vehicle routing problem, resource optimization, and pricing strategies. The present reprint contains all of the articles accepted and published in the Special Issue "Mathematical Modeling and Intelligent Optimization in Green Manufacturing & Logistics" from the MDPI Mathematics journal. This Special Issue is focused on collecting recent mathematical modeling and intelligent optimization research in green manufacturing and logistics, including operations research, game theory, (meta)heuristics, machine learning, knowledge-driven, digital twin, and so on. We hope that the scientific results presented in this reprint will serve as a valuable source of documentation and inspiration to those researching the modeling and optimization of green manufacturing and sustainable logistics.

Summary: This open access book presents theoretical and practical research relating to the vast, publicly financed program for the construction of new schools and the reorganization of existing educational buildings in Italy. This transformative process aims to give old buildings a fresh identity, to ensure that facilities are compliant with the new educational and teaching models, and to improve both energy efficiency and structural safety with respect to seismic activity. The book is divided into three sections, the first of which focuses on the social role of the school as a civic building that can serve the needs of the community. Innovations in both design and construction processes are then analyzed, paying special attention to the Building Information Modeling (BIM) strategy as a tool for the integration of different disciplines. The final section is devoted to the built heritage and tools, technologies, and approaches for the upgrading of existing buildings so that they meet the new regulations on building performance. The book will be of interest to all who wish to learn about the latest insights into the challenges posed by, and the opportunities afforded by, a comprehensive school building and renovation program.

Summary: Renewable energy deployment as an alternative to traditional energy sources is the cornerstone of the emission-reduction energy policies that aim to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. This transition poses risks and opportunities for companies with business models that rely directly or indirectly on renewables, which will be reflected in the revaluation of assets and in the reallocation of private and public financial investments from carbon-intensive to low-carbon energies. In a series of selected articles, this book addresses current challenges and opportunities for renewable energies from technological, economic and financial perspectives.

Summary: Population growth and climate change are leading to global water scarcity. Water shortages are thus hindering rural, urban and industrial development. These days, approximately half of the world's population is affected temporarily by water scarcity. To enable a secure water supply, alternative water sources must be generated to tackle the challenge of water scarcity. An important alternative resource is the reuse of treated wastewater. Water reuse processes are rarely considered and implemented. In contrast to the storage and use of rainwater, treated wastewater is a valuable resource, as it is available daily. Certain wastewater treatment processes are required to produce the new resource "reused water". The treatment processes depend on the quality of the wastewater since industrial and municipal wastewater flows are characterized by different concentrations. Moreover, water reuse methods must be developed in order to use the treated wastewater as efficiently as possible. Ideally, the reused water can be provided according to the "fit for purpose" principle and applied directly in areas such as irrigation, street cleaning, toilet flushing or make-up water for cooling systems.The Special Issue brings together new wastewater treatment technologies and water reuse concepts to tackle the challenges of climate change with the aim of bringing the resource "reused water" according to the "fit for purpose" principle to the user. This issue aims to draw on global experiences, approaches and solutions.

Summary: This book comprises components associated with smart water which aims at the exploitation and building of more sustainable and technological water networks towards the water-energy nexus and system efficiency. The implementation of modeling frameworks for measuring the performance based on a set of relevant indicators and data applications and model interfaces provides better support for decisions towards greater sustainability and more flexible and safer solutions. The hydraulic, management, and structural models represent the most effective and viable way to predict the behavior of the water networks under a wide range of conditions of demand and system failures. The knowledge of reliable parameters is crucial to develop approach models and, therefore, positive decisions in real time to be implemented in smart water systems. On the other hand, the models of operation in real-time optimization allow us to extend decisions to smart water systems in order to improve the efficiency of the water network and ensure more reliable and flexible operations, maximizing cost, environmental, and social savings associated with losses or failures. The data obtained in real time instantly update the network model towards digital water models, showing the characteristic parameters of pumps, valves, pressures, and flows, as well as hours of operation towards the lowest operating costs, in order to meet the requirement objectives for an efficient system.

Summary: In recent years, the building sector has been turning towards intervening in the existing city building stock. In fact, it is generally accepted that the refurbishment of buildings and urban regeneration based on sustainability must form the axis of reformulation of the building sector. At present, achieving sustainable urban development inevitably involves improving existing buildings, thereby preventing the need for city growth, and for the emptying of established neighborhoods. Furthermore, considering the whole life cycle, the great amount of greenhouse emissions derived from the construction sector is well known; thus, in order to reach a decarbonized society, it is important to provide eco-efficient construction materials and solutions, adding the principles of the circular economy and resource efficiency. Therefore, the theme of this Special Issue is the "Decarbonization and Circular Economy in the Sustainable Development and Renovation of Buildings and Neighborhoods" in response to the objectives not only raised in the Horizon 2020 but by all the people who seek a more sustainable world. This Special Issue of Sustainability focuses on, but is not limited to: • Obtaining an overview of the environmental problems that arise from construction activity, focusing on refurbishment as an alternative to the current crisis in the construction sector, as well as on actions designed to minimize environmental effects on the environment; • Searching for new alternatives to conventional construction solutions that minimize the environmental impact of the construction activity, improve indoor environmental quality of buildings, build or refurbish, always from a rentable and optimal cost in time, and implement a circular economy and an efficient resource and waste management; • Minimizing the consumption of material resources, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in construction and looking for the proper management of construction and demolition waste and the opportunities for their recycling and reuse; • Sustainable planning and urban development, for an ordered and sustainable growth.

Summary: This book results from a Special Issue related to the latest progress in the thermodynamics of machines systems and processes since the premonitory work of Carnot. Carnot invented his famous cycle and generalized the efficiency concept for thermo-mechanical engines. Since that time, research progressed from the equilibrium approach to the irreversible situation that represents the general case. This book illustrates the present state-of-the-art advances after one or two centuries of consideration regarding applications and fundamental aspects. The research is moving fast in the direction of economic and environmental aspects. This will probably continue during the coming years. This book mainly highlights the recent focus on the maximum power of engines, as well as the corresponding first law efficiency upper bounds.

Summary: Buildings account for more than one-third of the global final energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The building sector offers a significant potential in the transition towards the decarbonisation of societies. To achieve this goal, different concepts and implementations of Net-Zero/Positive Energy Buildings and Districts (NZPEBD) have emerged in the last years and are still in progress. This book is the collection of the articles published in the Special Issue "Net-Zero/Positive Energy Buildings and Districts" of the Buildings journal. This reprint includes 17 research articles covering different aspects of Net-Zero/Positive Energy Buildings and Districts planning, technologies, economics, building design and retrofitting, citizen engagement, and collection of energy data.

Summary: Networks, communications, and computing have become ubiquitous and inseparable parts of everyday life. This book is based on a Special Issue of the Algorithms journal, and it is devoted to the exploration of the many-faceted relationship of networks, communications, and computing. The included papers explore the current state-of-the-art research in these areas, with a particular interest in the interactions among the fields.

Summary: According to the National Research Council, the use of embedded systems throughout society could well overtake previous milestones in the information revolution. Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of electronic, mechanical engineering, controls, software and systems engineering in the design of processes and products. Mechatronic systems put "intelligence" into physical systems. Embedded sensors/actuators/processors are integral parts of mechatronic systems. The implementation of mechatronic systems is consistently on the rise. However, manufacturers are working hard to reduce the implementation cost of these systems while trying avoid compromising product quality. One way of addressing these conflicting objectives is through new automatic control methods, virtual sensing/estimation, and new innovative hardware topologies.

Summary: This reprint explores the complex relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth. The reprint contains 14 papers covering a wide range of topics related to energy use efficiency in various countries and economic sectors. The articles include studies on adopting renewable energy sources, the impact of battery electric vehicles on greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, the influence of philanthropy on eco-efficiency, and the impact of energy efficiency regulations on energy poverty. This reprint also includes studies on the race to zero emissions in MINT economies, the competitiveness of the cultural industry and its impact on Chinese economic growth, and the impact of education levels on the energy-growth-environment nexus. This reprint serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to contribute to the global energy transition by identifying and analyzing the effects of renewable energy consumption on economic growth. It inspires policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to embrace sustainable energy practices and support the development of measures that foster green growth. Therefore, this reprint provides important insights into energy use efficiency theories, methods, and diverse applications, making it a valuable resource for anyone interested in the future of energy and its impact on the global economy.

Summary: Electric motors consume about 70% of industrial electricity and about 40%-45% of produced electricity in the world. This means that using high-efficiency electric motors will improve the level of energy consumption. In addition, it will reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment. Furthermore, it will significantly reduce the need for new power plants, thus reducing the invested resources to do so. Electric machines employing rare-earth magnets have higher efficiency and power density. However, rare-earth magnets are expensive, and their manufacturing process, as well as the process of mining rare-earth raw materials, is harmful to the environment. Thereby, the development of energy-efficient electric machines without rare-earth magnets is of great interest. The aim of this reprint was to gather new research publications in various topics related to improving the energy efficiency of electric machines without using rare-earth magnets. Ten articles have been published which cover various topics.

Summary: The sustainability of the built environment can only be achieved through the maintenance planning of built facilities during their lifecycle while also considering social, economic, functional, technical, and ecological aspects. Stakeholders should be conscious of the existing tools and knowledge for the optimization of maintenance and rehabilitation actions in consideration of the degradation mechanisms and the risk of failure over time. Knowledge concerning the service life prediction of building elements is crucial to the definition, in a rational and technically informed way, of a set of maintenance strategies over the building's life cycle. Service life prediction methodologies provide a better understanding of the degradation phenomenon of the analyzed elements, enabling the relation of the characteristics of these elements and their exposure, use, and maintenance conditions with their performance over time. This SI intends to provide an overview of the existing knowledge related to various aspects of "Life Cycle Prediction and Maintenance of Buildings". Relevant topics to this Special Issue include: Methodologies for service life prediction of buildings and components; Maintainability of buildings and components; Serviceability of building elements; Maintenance and repair actions of buildings and components; Definition and optimization of maintenance policies; Financial analysis of various maintenance plans; Whole life cycle costing; Life cycle assessment.

Summary: This Special Issue summarizes, in a single reference, timely emerging topics related to power electronics for sustainable energy conversion. Furthermore, at the same time, it provides the reader with valuable information related to open research opportunity niches.

Summary: Climate change is increasing due to the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases. The majority of these are due to the production and consumption of energy. According to the latest estimates, global energy demand could triple by 2050, and by then, 70% of the world's population will live in cities. The challenge for future cities is the implementation of a mechanism that minimizes the need for injection of new energy resources in them, so that a high level of self-sufficiency can be achieved through the concept of circular economy, thus partially mitigating the impacts of climate change. Using solar energy today is considered to be one of the best solutions that can be installed in buildings to help with this issue. This book addresses several relevant aspects related to energy saving at cities, including a deep survey of research topics and scientific collaborations in energy saving. The main research topics carried out are related to sustainability, solar energy, the use of rooftops for energy generation, energy conversion from urban biomass or residues, wind energy, and public and private urban energy saving.

Summary: The reprint provides a comprehensive review of various topics related to sustainable building design and operation, with a particular focus on energy efficiency and environmental impact. It covers a wide range of topics, including visual comfort assessment, decision-making processes of residents, low-cost devices for CO2 monitoring, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residential energy use. The reprint also includes discussions on solar energy in urban planning, cost-optimal measures for energy renovation, and passive solar solutions for buildings. It provides insights into the use of different materials and strategies for improving the energy efficiency of building envelopes, including the integration of phase change materials and the use of reflective coatings on building roofs. Several case studies are presented in the book, which explores the implementation of sustainable design strategies in different building types and climates. The authors also discuss the use of advanced modeling techniques to simulate the performance of different building systems, including vertical greenery systems and the solar cadaster.

Summary: This collected volume consists of high-quality research covering a wide range of topics related to energy economics and politics in developed countries. The papers are informative on how to encourage sustainable development and facilitate financing technology development, transfer, and applications to mitigate climate change. Air pollution, environmental regulations, green energy, energy certificates, transmission rights, and power generation are among the energy-related topic analyzed by the contributions included in this Special Issue.

Summary: In 2018, the 16th International Symposium on Magnetic Bearings (ISMB16) was held in Beijing, China. Herein, eight distinguished papers were selected to be published as Special Issues of Actuators. These papers are suggested to provide new insights for the development of magnetic bearings, with emphasis on thermal behavior analysis, electrodynamic thrust bearings analysis, viscoelastic damping design, magnetic spring, condition monitoring, self-bearing motors performance.

Summary: The search for alternative sources of energy is an attempt to solve two of the main problems facing the modern world. Today's resources are mainly based on fossil flammable substances such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The first problem is related to the expected and observed depletion of deposits, not only those available but also less accessible. Another is related to global warming from emissions of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide) as well as emissions of other pollutants in the atmosphere. Mitigating the harmful effects of fossil fuel use is an obvious challenge for mankind. This Special Issue includes articles on the search for new raw materials and new technologies for obtaining energy, such as those existing in nature, methane hydrates, biomass, etc., new more efficient technologies for generating electricity, as well as analyses of the possibilities and conditions of use of these resources for practical applications.