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Progress in Energy

About Progress in Energy

Scope

Progress in Energyis a highly selective, high-impact, multidisciplinary journal with a mission to publish groundbreaking new research and authoritative invited reviews of the highest quality and significance across all aspects of the global energy transition.

Primary research articles must report new advances that are essential reading for specialists, and likely to be of broader multidisciplinary interest with the expectation of long-term scientific impact and influence on the future direction of a field.

Reviews and opinion pieces are invited from leading experts to inform both specialist and non-specialist readers by placing developments within a wider context with the aim of fuelling discussion on the future of energy research.

At its core, the journal aims to facilitate timely and impactful discussions between scientists, policy makers and practitioners, provide a platform for knowledge sharing, and offer researchers the opportunity to collaborate and shape the future direction of energy research, all with the broader aim of driving the global energy transition.

All fundamental and interdisciplinary areas within energy are covered by the journal’s broad scope, including current research and emerging trends in the natural & physical sciences, technology & engineering, the social sciences, economics, and policy.

Subjects covered include, but are not restricted to:

  • Materials for energy applications
  • Sustainable and renewable energy and fuels
  • Renewable generation and integration
  • Energy storage
  • Energy systems and infrastructure
  • Environmental impact and resource availability for the low carbon transition
  • Energy and transport
  • Energy policy
  • Energy economics

Why should you publish in Progress in Energy?

  • Prestigious: Part of IOPP’s flagship “Progress in” series, publishing quality content overseen by a high calibre external Editorial Board of international reputation and internal Peer Review experts.
  • High standards: rigorous peer review from IOP Publishing’s global network of expert reviewers, handled by top-level Associate Editors and overseen by dedicated IOP Publishing in-house staff.
  • Inclusive: broad and interdisciplinary scope covering all core areas within energy, highlighting trends in key areas, bringing researchers together and linking communities.
  • Society owned: any profits generated by IOP Publishing are used by the Institute of Physics to support science and scientists in both the developed and developing world.

Article types

Progress in Energy welcomes submissions of the following article types:

  • Letters: concise, high urgency research articles that report a new result/advance that is essential reading for specialists, and likely to be of broader multidisciplinary interest with the expectation for long-term scientific impact and influence on the current state and/or future direction of a field. As a guide, Letters should not generally be more than eight journal pages (or around 4500 words) in length. Authors are required to provide a cover letter including a Justification Statement as part of the submission process (see below).
  • Research Papers: longer articles that report a new result/advance that is essential reading for specialists, and likely to be of broader multidisciplinary interest with the expectation for long-term scientific impact and influence on the current state and/or future direction of a field. Article length is flexible but as a guide, Research Papers are typically of the order of 12,000 words. Authors are required to provide a cover letter including a Justification Statement as part of the submission process (see below).
  • Topical reviews: review articles should present an overview of a topic by summarising the literature to report on the current state of the field. They can also provide insights into emerging fields and identify key research directions. Whilst most review articles are commissioned by the Editorial Board, unsolicited articles can be considered. They are flexible in length, typically 8000–14000 words depending on topic focus and size or maturity of the field. Longer reviews can also be considered for broader topics deserving a more comprehensive or exhaustive review treatment. Whilst most review articles are commissioned by the Editorial Board, we welcome proposals from all authors whose work fits the scope of the journal.
  • Perspectives: commissioned commentaries that provide an overview and exploration of a topic from a personal standpoint, providing an outlet for expressing the opinions and judgement of an expert in the field. They may identify critical questions in a line of research still in development but whose significance and goals have not yet been realized. They are flexible in length, typically 4000–6000 words. Whilst most perspective articles are commissioned by the Editorial Board, we welcome proposals from all authors whose work fits the scope of the journal.
  • Roadmaps: a specially commissioned article with a specific focus on the near and long-term development goals of a broad high interest topic. They are unique collaborative projects, with individual authors invited and guided by the Editorial Board to author short contributions of a few pages on different areas within the broader topic. Collectively these contributions create a cohesive and authoritative outlook of future research directions and developments. Detailed guidelines on the format and requirements for the contributors to collaborative Roadmap articles are available via the commissioning Editor or Board Member.

We will also consider alternative article formats where there is clear justification for deviating from the standard requirements. Authors are encouraged to contact the journal team prior to submission to discuss suitability.

Special requirements

Letters and Research Papers:
To be publishable in Progress in Energy, a Letter or Research Paper must report a new advance that is essential reading for specialists, and likely to be of broader multidisciplinary interest with the expectation for long-term scientific impact and influence on the current state and/or future direction of a field. An essential requirement for publication is for the work to have the potential to significantly advance a specific field and/or report on a fundamental new discovery/concept with envisaged long-term importance.

Submissions that do not meet the journal’s strict acceptance criteria may be transferred for consideration to another more editorially suitable journal within the IOP Publishing portfolio (subject to the peer review process and author approval).

Cover Letter and Justification Statement
Authors are required to provide a cover letter that includes a Justification Statement as part of their submission to Progress in Energy. This material is intended to help convey the significance of the work to the journal’s Editors and will be influential as part of the initial editorial assessment process. Specifically, the Justification Statement should concisely (in less than 150 words):
1. Summarise the main scientific result/advance being reported;
2. Outline the expected long-term influence of the work on the current state and/or future direction of the immediate field;
3. Highlight any broader implications of the research for other disciplines.

Proposing a review or perspective article

The majority of articles are commissioned by the Editorial Board, however proposals for reviews and perspectives from potential authors wishing to write for the journal are welcome. Before beginning to write a review or perspective, all authors are first required to submit an article outline regardless of whether their article has been commissioned or is unsolicited. An article outline allows the Board to judge the timeliness and suitability of the topic, whether the author’s proposal reflects what was intended in the invitation if originally commissioned, and to ensure similar articles are not already in preparation.

The outline should provide a brief summary detailing the intended approach to be used in the article and how it will add to the current literature landscape. For a review article proposal additional details are required in the outline; a list of contents and subheadings to ensure the article covers the subject comprehensively.

Full guidelines and a template for writing a review or perspective article outline are available, and this should be submitted to the journal at prge@ioppublishing.org for assessment by the Editorial Board.

Writing a review article

A review should begin with a title and abstract that identifies the issue being addressed, and research area to be reviewed. A clear introduction giving an overview of the subject is important to convey why it is of relevance and interest to both specialist and general readerships of the energy community. A good introductory section should lead the reader into the more detailed material and make the content accessible to a wide readership. The audience of a review may not be experts in the subject area, they may be researchers or policy-makers working in other fields wishing to keep informed of developments outside their own specialisation or looking for an introduction to a new field.

The background section should present the rationale of why a review of this subject area is needed, along with a fair and balanced account of the current status of the subject, progress, and developments over the past 5–10 years. A clear distinction should be made between points of view which are well established, and those which are still speculative and under discussion. The article should be concluded with a section rounding off the review; highlighting the main advances or developments in the subject area. The author may choose to add concluding remarks on what new developments will emerge in the field and the future direction of research.

Careful attention should be given to sections of the review in which the current status of the subject is placed within the wider context and explained in non-specialist terms. Any technical terms should be fully described, and complex mathematical formalisms or numerical data which do not carry the discussion to a clear conclusion should be avoided.

Writing a perspective article

These articles aim to promote scientific discussion on the current progress of an energy topic of high interest and catalyse debate on the future trends and prospects of the particular field. Written from the viewpoint of a leading expert in the field, the author is provided with the opportunity to share their insights on the latest developments and progress of an exciting area of energy, and shed light on potential future trends and directions with readers both within and outside their specialist discipline. They are more forward looking than topical review articles, often employing a narrower focus.

They should start with a short, thought-provoking title followed by an abstract of 200–500 words. The main body of text should be split into clearly defined paragraphs using short section headings where necessary. The first paragraph should introduce the issue under discussion to capture the readers’ interest and outline the current research or policy landscape to a broad audience. The main body of text should discuss the limitations and implications for new developments in the field and focus on predictions for the future. The final paragraph should draw a conclusion without restating text, highlighting any unanswered questions on the future prospects and advancement of the field.

Opinion articles do not contain original research material or unpublished data, however evidence should be used to support the author’s personal observations, especially when advocating a controversial position.

Peer review

The following summary describes the peer review process for Progress in Energy, using the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review:

  • Identity transparency: single-anonymous, double-anonymous (author choice)
  • Reviewer interacts with: Editor
  • Review information published: review reports (author and reviewer opt in), author/editor communication, reviewer identities (reviewer opt in)

Our Publishing Support website provides more information on our reviewing process as well as checklists in both English and Chinese language to help authors prepare their manuscripts for submission.

If an article is not accepted for publication, we may offer the author the opportunity to transfer their submission to other suitable journals we publish.

Inclusivity and diversity

IOP Publishing recognises that there are inequalities within the scientific publishing and research ecosystems. We are committed to a progressive approach to inclusivity and diversity, and are working hard to eliminate discrimination to foster an equitable and welcoming publishing environment for all.

IOP Publishing follows Guidelines on Inclusive Language and Images in Scholarly Communication to ensure that journal articles use bias-free and culturally sensitive communication. We ask authors to please follow these guidelines in their manuscript submissions.

More information about our work on inclusivity is available on our Open Physics hub.

Ethics

Progress in Energy maintains the highest standards of publication and research ethics and is a member of the Committee for Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors are expected to comply with IOP Publishing’s Ethical Policy.

Research data

Progress in Energy has adopted IOP Publishing’s research data policy. Please check that your article complies with the policy before submission.

Please note that this policy requires authors to include a data availability statement in their article.

For any questions about the policy please contact the journal.

Many research funders now require authors to make all data related to their research available in an online repository. Please refer to the policy for further information about research data, data repositories and data citation.

Open access

Progress in Energy is a hybrid open access journal. Authors have the option to pay an article publication charge (APC) to publish their article on a gold open access basis under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence. Articles published on a gold open access basis are freely available to everyone to read and reuse immediately upon publication, provided the terms of the licence are followed and clear attribution to the author is given.

Alternatively authors who do not select the gold open access option can choose a green open access route to publication.

For more information on IOP Publishing’s open access policies please see our Open access page. For our author rights policies please see our Author rights page.

Publication charges

Publication on a subscription-access basis is free of charge.

Authors have the option to pay the following article publication charge (APC) to publish their article on an open access basis under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence.

GBP EUR USD
Article publication charge* £3260 €3750 $4455
Reduced article publication charge* for Group B countries** £500 €575 $675
Reduced article publication charge for Group A countries** £0 €0 $0

*excluding VAT where applicable

**eligibility criteria can be found here

APCs only apply to articles accepted for publication; there are no submission charges.

There are no other charges for publishing in Progress in Energy.

Transformative Agreements

Progress in Energy is included in our transformative agreements which allow authors from some institutions to publish open access without paying an APC.

Find out if you’re covered by an agreement

If you are covered by an agreement, use our author guide to help you submit your paper.

Countries where we have transformative agreements include:
Austria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.

Paying for open access

Various discounts, waivers and funding arrangements are available to support our authors. Visit our Paying for open access page for further details.

 

Abstracting and indexing services

We work with our authors to make their work as easy to discover as possible. Progress in Energy is currently included in the following abstracting and discovery services:

  • Baidu Scholar
  • CNKI
  • Ei Compendex
  • Inspec
  • J-Gate
  • MyScienceWork
  • NASA Astrophysics Data System
  • Naver Academic
  • R Discovery
  • Scilit
  • Scopus
  • Semantic Scholar
  • Wanfang Data
  • Web of Science
  • x-mol

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