Track 1: AI for Energy Sustainability
This track is focused on the role that artificial intelligence is playing and could play in the energy transition and building a sustainable future. It will bring together leading researchers and experts who are exploring the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the areas of technology development and deployment, grid analysis, energy consumption forecasting, and operation and maintenance. Research studies that address the current state of the art of AI applications on sustainability and the environment, smart grids, smart cities, power storage and distribution, and cybersecurity risks, are more equitably distributed are welcome to this track.
Track 2: Advances in Heat Pump Technology
This track focuses on recent developments, innovations, and applications of heat pump systems for residential, commercial, and industrial use. Topics include novel system architectures, working fluids, component design, performance optimization, integration with renewable energy sources, modeling and simulation, field demonstrations, and techno-economic assessments. Submissions may also address policy, market trends, and environmental impacts that drive the adoption of high-efficiency heat pump technologies
Track 3: Sustainable Buildings, Communities, and Cities
This track welcomes abstracts covering new and unique work that aims to reduce energy use in buildings, meet building energy loads sustainably, improve performance and health factors in building energy systems, or reduce costs of renewable or sustainable building energy systems. Research in the capture, storage, or utilization of renewable or sustainable energy for building systems or in heat recovery and reuse as well as research on grid-interactive efficient buildings are encouraged. We welcome analytical, numerical, experimental, and demonstration projects. Research may cover hot water systems, HVAC systems, building envelope systems, materials, energy storage, and beyond from the single-family home to larger buildings to community scale projects.
Track 4: Thermal, Mechanical, and Thermochemical Energy Storage for Medium- and Low-Temperature Application
This track explores innovative thermal, mechanical, and thermochemical energy storage technologies designed for medium- and low-temperature operation. Emphasis is placed on materials and systems that enable efficient, cost-effective energy storage for applications in buildings, industrial processes, and power grid support. Topics of interest include phase change materials, desiccant charging/discharging systems, and thermal storage for shifting electricity demand and supply. Mechanical and hybrid thermo-mechanical approaches—such as compressed air, flywheels, liquid-air storage, and gravitational storage—are also welcome, particularly where they address integration challenges and opportunities in distributed or large-scale energy systems.
Track 5: Hybrid Energy Systems for Grid Integration or Microgrids
This track on hybrid energy systems (IES) or integrated energy systems (HES) brings synergy from one energy resource to another, and is instrumental in enabling sustainable energy grids and distributed energy resources (DER) or microgrids. All types of work are welcomed, including but not limited to innovative systems and applications (case studies), system design and optimization, dynamic modeling, controls and simulations, including digital twin, techno-economic analysis (TEA), sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty quantification.
Track 6: Concentrating Solar Power 1: Optical Systems, Receivers and Reactors
This track focuses on advances in concentrating solar power research and technology in optical systems, receivers, and reactors. It brings together leading international researchers and experts in the field to discuss recent progress.
Track 7: Concentrating Solar Power 2: Heat exchangers, Energy storage system, and the Power Block
This track focuses on advances in concentrating solar power research and technology in heat exchangers, energy storage, and the power block. It brings together leading international researchers and experts in the field to discuss recent progress.
Track 8: Concentrating Solar Power 3: Technoeconomics, Lifecycle analyses, Balance of plant
This track focuses on advances in concentrating solar power research and technology in technoeconomic analysis, lifecycle assessments, and balance of plant technology and analysis. It brings together leading international researchers and experts in the field to discuss recent progress.
Track 9: Solar Chemistry: Thermochemistry, Photocatalysis, and Photo-electrocatalysis
This track includes a wide range of international research developments in the area of powering chemical processes with solar radiation through thermochemical, photocatalytic, or (photo)electrochemical means. Topics will span fundamental research covering the interaction between solar radiation and chemically active materials, development of new reactive materials for solar applications, experimental results from prototype solar chemical reactors, large-scale implementation of solar chemical processes, and integration of complex systems with multiple solar and chemical components.
Track 10: Photovoltaic, Photovoltaic-Thermal, and Electrochemical Technologies, Including Batteries and Fuel Cells
This track is a platform for disseminating research on photovoltaic, photovoltaic-thermal, and electrochemical technologies, technologies with a natural synergism. Research related to photovoltaics, photovoltaic-thermal and electrochemical technologies is encouraged, as well as research integrating photovoltaics or photovoltaic-thermal with electrochemical processes. Potential topics include photovoltaic devices, hybrid photovoltaic-thermal devices, electrochemical devices, system design, manufacturing of components or systems, operation, soiling loss modeling and testing, anti-dust coatings, thermal management, and module reliability. Potential topics may also include batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, electrolyzers, novel materials, and modeling and analysis of systems. Studies on emerging research in photovoltaics, such as emerging photovoltaic technology (e-V), organic photovoltaics, and agrivoltaics, among others, are highly encouraged. The track will allow technical leaders in photovoltaics and electrochemical processes to connect and identify collaborations that could unleash the potential of electrochemical processes coupled with photovoltaics to meet the needs of a low-carbon energy system.
Track 11: Advanced Thermal Energy Conversion (Geothermal, Nuclear, Waste Heat Recovery, Industrial Process Heat, Desalination)
This track covers recent advances in thermal energy conversion, including geothermal, nuclear, waste heat, industrial process heat, desalination, and solar process heat. Topics may address high-temperature process integration, novel thermodynamic cycles, multi-source hybridization, and system-level optimization for reliability, cost, and performance. Topics within the water-energy nexus are encouraged. Contributions are welcome that include field studies, experimentation, computational modeling, optimization, verification or validation.
Track 12: Alternative Energy Conversion Technology (including Wind, Hydropower, and Ocean
This track covers innovative research on wind, hydropower and ocean energy as alternative energy technologies. Topics include advancements in wind energy, hydropower, and ocean energy technologies, with an emphasis on improving efficiency, reliability, and sustainability. The submissions on this track can include modeling and computational analysis, optimization, techno-economic assessments, experimental investigations and large-scale field studies.
Track 13: Hydrogen, Bioenergy and Biofuels, and Sustainable Fuels
This track welcomes all research areas related to the production, storage, transmission, safety, utilization of hydrogen energy and bioenergy, fuel conversion and processing technologies, biofuel and sustainable fuels, including aviation fuels. Experimental study, mathematical modeling, numerical simulation, systematic analysis, verification and validation are particularly welcome. Topics related to environmental impact, economic and international aspects of hydrogen energy, bioenergy and biofuels, and sustainable fuels are also welcome. We are particularly interested in papers related to the production, storage and transportation of biohydrogen, as well as its socioeconomics impacts.
Track 14: Sustainable Fossil Fuel Technologies and Integration of Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization
This track covers recent advances in fossil-fuel based energy systems, including improving efficiency, reducing emissions, and integrating with broader sustainable energy strategies. Areas of interest include innovative approaches to resource extraction and management, combustion optimization, and advanced fossil-fuel power cycles. Cogeneration and integration of renewable-fossil hybrid systems are welcome. Topics may also include emerging carbon management solutions including carbon capture, storage, and utilization for energy-intensive industries, power plants, chemical processing of fossil fuels, and direct air capture. Contributions are welcome that include field studies, experimentation, computational modeling, optimization, verification or validation.
Track 15: Advanced Materials and Processes for Sustainable Manufacturing and Energy
This track covers recent advancements in energy-related materials and manufacturing processes that improve performance, reduce waste, and extend service life. Topics include materials for extreme-environment, thermomechanical and topology optimized systems, novel additive manufacturing feedstocks, and high-temperature and corrosion resistant alloys used in energy systems. Contributions may also include environmentally conscious design and manufacturing processes, product lifecycle extension, resource efficiency, and materials for circular economy strategies. Process-related topics may include additive manufacturing, redesign for end-of-life recovery, remanufacturing, recycling, green manufacturing, AI/ML-enabled smart and cyber manufacturing, and energy efficiency in production lines. Contributions are welcome that include field studies, experimentation, computational modeling, optimization, verification or validation.
Track 16: Space Energy Systems and In-Situ Resource Utilization
This track covers recent advancements in energy generation, storage, and management in space applications including crewed and uncrewed spacecraft, Lunar and Martian surface operations, and long-duration missions. Topics include thermal management systems, power generation from solar, nuclear, and other advanced concepts, energy storage in extreme environments, and integration with life-support systems. Research in in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) is encouraged, such as extraction and conversion of extraterrestrial materials into fuels, construction materials, or life-support consumables. Contributions are welcome that include field studies, experimentation, computational modeling, optimization, verification or validation.
Track 17: Lightning Talks
All participants are welcome! This track provides a forum for practicing scientific communication skills, networking, and community building. We invite interested participants to deliver short (<= 5 mins) presentations/elevator pitches, with or without slides, to showcase and introduce their research, advertise for open jobs/research positions, seek research collaborators, learn more about participating in organizing the ASME-ES conference, and get feedback on work-in-progress or any roadblocks that you've run into in research.
Track 18: Poster Presentations
This track welcomes abstracts for posters that cover research studies related to energy sustainability. Posters from undergraduate and graduate students are particularly welcome.
Track 19: Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon)
The HelioCon track covers the research, development and deployment (RD&D) effort concerning advanced heliostat technologies. The track aims to collect, but not limited to, the submissions from the 5-year DOE initiative called Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon) and related projects. All aspects of heliostat technology advancement are within the scope, which include advanced manufacturing, metrology and standards, components and controls, field deployment, techno-economic analysis and, resources, training and education (RTE).