Advancing Sustainable Development with Joint Effort of Bioenergy and Geo-Energy

Dear Colleagues,

So-called clean energy is recommended to replace transitional fossil geo-energy towards a sustainable future. However, clean energy and fossil energy are not opposites. Instead, they are supposed to transit the current energy system toward sustainability individually and/or with the joint effort of each other.

The integration of bioenergy and geo-energy presents a transformative opportunity to advance sustainable development. Bioenergy, derived from organic materials like agricultural waste, forestry residues, and biowaste, offers a versatile and renewable energy source. Geo-energy, harnessed from the Earth, such as oil and gas and geothermal heat, provides a stable and consistent supply of energy. Together, these energy resources can complement each other to address pressing energy and climate challenges.

Bioenergy is particularly effective in utilizing waste streams, supporting the circular economy by turning biomass into power, heat, or biofuels. Geo-energy, on the other hand, offers baseload energy that is not weather-dependent, ensuring reliability. Integrating these two energy systems can lead to hybrid solutions, such as combining geothermal heat with biogas plants to maximize energy output while minimizing emissions. Such systems can significantly enhance energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and improve the resilience of energy systems.

Moreover, joint bio-geo energy initiatives align with sustainable development goals (SDGs). They promote clean energy (SDG 7), support climate action (SDG 13), and foster sustainable communities (SDG 11). For instance, utilizing local biomass resources alongside geothermal energy can empower rural communities, creating jobs and improving energy access while mitigating environmental impacts.

Key challenges, however, include technology integration, cost optimization, and policy alignment. Addressing these barriers requires innovative research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and supportive policy frameworks. Governments, industries, and researchers must work together to develop scalable models that balance environmental sustainability with economic viability.

By combining the strengths of bioenergy and geo-energy, we can move closer to a low-carbon future, ensuring energy security, environmental preservation, and socio-economic development. This collaborative effort holds immense potential to transform global energy systems and achieve long-term sustainability.

We invite researchers, scientists, and practitioners to contribute original research and review articles to a Special Issue focused on the synergy between bioenergy and geo-energy for advancing sustainable development. This Issue aims to explore innovative strategies, technologies, and policies that integrate these renewable energy sources to address global energy challenges while ensuring environmental and social sustainability.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Waste to energy.
• Responsible and sustainable energy generation.
• Sustainable hydrocarbon exploration and production.
• Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
• Geo- and/or bio-hydrogen production, transport, and storage.
• Geothermal energy.
• Application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data analytics in energy industry.
• Novel technologies of bioenergy, geo-energy and their integration.
• Life cycle assessment of bio-geo energy solutions.
• Role of bio-geo energy in achieving net-zero emissions.
• Policies and strategies promoting bio-geo energy synergy.
• Case studies of successful implementations.

Dr. Guandong Su
Dr. Yu Peng
Dr. Mohamed Saad Hellal
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.

• bioenergy
• geo-energy
• sustainable development goals
• waste management
• synergy