Thermal Science and Engineering Progress

Thermal Science and Engineering Progress (TSEP) publishes original, high‑quality research spanning the full spectrum from fundamental investigations and emerging thermodynamic theories to advanced engineering applications addressing global challenges such as urbanisation, smart‑city development, climate change, resilient agri-food systems, and the need to maximise energy efficiency and sustainability. Articles should be of direct relevance to industry, policy stakeholders, academia, and practicing engineers.

TSEP welcomes research related to all types of energy systems, conventional, renewable, emerging, hybrid, decentralised, and fully integrated energy networks and grid integration. In addition, the journal recognises the increasing importance of the policy, regulatory, and strategic frameworks that shape the deployment and societal adoption of thermal technologies.

The scope therefore includes:

Energy Systems and Technologies

• Conventional energy systems: thermal power plants, combustion systems, gas turbines, industrial boilers, CHP/Cogeneration, and district heating networks.

• Renewable and low‑carbon energy systems: solar thermal, PV/T, geothermal, wind energy thermal management, biomass and bioenergy conversion, and ocean/tidal thermal systems.

• Nuclear energy: reactor thermal‑hydraulics, passive heat‑removal systems, fusion heat transfer, high‑temperature systems, and safety‑critical thermal technologies.

• Hydrogen and fuel‑cell systems: combustion dynamics, high‑temperature materials, thermal integration, waste‑heat utilisation, and electrolyser thermal management.

• Electrical and thermal energy storage: battery thermal management, thermal energy storage (sensible/latent/thermochemical), molten salts, phase‑change materials, and grid‑scale storage integration.

• Electrical energy management and grid integration.

• Industrial energy efficiency and waste‑heat recovery: heat pipes, ORC systems, economisers, heat pumps, and high‑efficiency heat‑exchangers for any industrial sector.

• Emerging energy technologies: smart grids, power‑to‑X systems, synthetic fuels, thermoelectrics, and nano‑engineered thermal surfaces.

• Thermal process design and intensification: modelling, simulation, and optimisation of thermally intensive industrial processes (e.g., chemical, metallurgical, cement, pulp and paper); advanced heat and mass transfer in reactors, distillation, and separation systems, advances in process control and process integration.

• Agri-food thermal systems: thermal food preservation and processing (e.g. pasteurisation, sterilisation, drying); cold chain design and energy efficiency in the cold chain; greenhouse climate control, crop drying, and waste heat utilisation in agriculture.

Energy Policy, Regulation, and Strategy: TSEP also encourages submissions that explore how policy and regulatory frameworks influence the development, integration, and deployment of thermal and energy technologies, including (but not limited to):

• Energy‑efficiency policy and standards: regulatory drivers for industrial efficiency, building codes, CHP/heat network policy, and minimum energy‑performance standards.

• Decarbonisation and climate‑policy impacts: carbon‑pricing mechanisms, emissions‑reduction strategies, heat‑decarbonisation pathways, and national energy‑transition roadmaps.

• Integration of thermal technologies into national energy strategies: long‑term planning, resilience analysis, and scenario modelling for multi‑energy systems.

• Regulatory frameworks for renewable heat and low‑carbon heating: incentives, subsidies, market‑creation mechanisms, and barriers to deployment.

• Policy impacts on technology innovation: how regulation accelerates or hinders adoption of new thermal materials, heat‑exchanger technologies, hydrogen systems, and storage technologies.

• Socio‑economic and environmental considerations: lifecycle analysis, resource sustainability, end‑of‑life impacts (including mandatory considerations for nanofluids), and cost‑benefit frameworks for policymakers.

By incorporating policy‑relevant work, TSEP aims to connect scientific innovation with the governance and decision‑making processes that shape real‑world implementation.

Review Articles: High‑quality review articles are welcomed. Authors should contact an Editor‑in‑Chief with an outline of the proposed review and a summary of their expertise using the designated questionnaire before submission.