Recent advances in energy storage and energy saving technologies: SDEWES special issue in 2022

Over the past few decades, there has been significant attention devoted to the development of advanced technologies for achieving sustainable and environmentally friendly energy production. One prominent event in this field was the 17th SDEWES Conference (Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems), which took place from November 6–10, 2022, in Paphos, Cyprus. This conference served as a gathering for 496 professionals, comprising scientists, researchers, and experts specializing in sustainable development. Participants came from 52 countries spanning six continents, with 349 attending in person and 147 joining virtually. Prof. Neven Duić, the full professor in the University of Zagreb, originated the SDEWES series since 2002, and serves as the associate editor of Energy Storage and Saving (ENSS) from the journal organization in 2021. This special issue (SI) is the second-time collaboration between SDEWES and ENSS. This editorial focuses on collating the key papers presented during the conference, with a particular emphasis on the pivotal topics including review on electrification and decarbonization, geothermal power utilization, thermal energy storage in heat pump, thermo-economic analysis on thermal system of buildings, industrial policymaking for low-emission technologies and mining investment in Latin America. ENSS also has established the SI for 18th SDEWES in 2023. Manuscripts are welcomed to 18th SDEWES held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on September 24–29, 2023.