Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Field · Physical Sciences

Energy research

Energy is a field of the Physical Sciences. Science Explorer counts 710k research works in it since 1950. 19.0% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: study of energy in physical systems, its sources, technology, management, and impact on sustainability.

Research works
710k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
135k
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.0%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
27
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+49%
the tick is no change

What is Energy research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Water Splitting, Nanomaterials, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Visible Light, CO2 Reduction. Gaining share since 2009–13: Carbon Dioxide, Renewable Fuels, Solar Desalination, Water Scarcity, CO2 Reduction. Losing share: Grid Integration, Photocatalysis, Solar Cells, Nanostructures.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Water Splitting86k◆ 1.08×4 topics
  2. Nanomaterials82k◆ 1.15×3 topics
  3. Renewable Energy68k▼ 0.85×14 topics
  4. Solar Energy55k▲ 1.58×2 topics
  5. Visible Light53k◆ 1.11×2 topics
  6. CO2 Reduction49k▲ 1.77×2 topics
  7. Photocatalyst42k▲ 1.67×1 topic
  8. Semiconductor42k▲ 1.67×1 topic
  9. Sustainability37k◆ 1.06×8 topics
  10. Catalysts36k▲ 1.37×2 topics
  11. Electrocatalysis36k▲ 1.37×2 topics
  12. Environmental Impact34k▼ 0.72×5 topics
  13. Energy Conversion31k▲ 1.27×2 topics
  14. Fuel Cells30k◆ 1.15×2 topics
  15. Hydrogen Evolution29k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  16. Oxygen Reduction29k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  17. Energy Efficiency20k◆ 0.94×4 topics
  18. Energy Storage19k▼ 0.53×3 topics
  19. Climate Change17k▼ 0.83×3 topics
  20. Nanostructures15k▼ 0.49×2 topics
  21. Consumption13k▲ 1.37×1 topic
  22. Rebound Effect13k▲ 1.37×1 topic
  23. Photovoltaic/Thermal Hybrid Technology13k▲ 1.58×1 topic
  24. Solar Thermal Collectors13k▲ 1.58×1 topic
  25. Biodiesel13k◆ 0.94×1 topic
  26. Microalgae13k◆ 0.94×1 topic
  27. Maximum Power Point Tracking13k▲ 1.33×1 topic
  28. Photovoltaic Arrays13k▲ 1.33×1 topic
  29. Electrolysis12k▲ 1.70×1 topic
  30. Hydrogen12k▲ 1.70×1 topic
  31. Photocatalysis11k▼ 0.48×1 topic
  32. Solar Cells11k▼ 0.48×1 topic
  33. Molecular Catalysis9,119▲ 1.37×2 topics
  34. EROI7,580▼ 0.73×1 topic
  35. Fossil Fuels7,580▼ 0.73×1 topic
  36. Carbon Dioxide7,422▲ 2.6×1 topic
  37. Renewable Fuels7,422▲ 2.6×1 topic
  38. Solar Desalination7,380▲ 2.0×1 topic
  39. Water Scarcity7,380▲ 2.0×1 topic
  40. Grid Integration6,752▼ 0.24×2 topics

Which countries lead Energy research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Energy. By volume, China and India publish the most (69k and 17k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #1 all time 22.3% top 10% · 69k works
  2. 2 United States · #2 all time 15.6% top 10% · 12k works
  3. 3 India · #7 all time 13.4% top 10% · 17k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #3 all time 21.0% top 10% · 4k works
  5. 5 Australia · #6 all time 25.4% top 10% · 2.7k works
  6. 6 Türkiye · #10 all time 17.9% top 10% · 3.7k works
  7. 7 Russia · #5 all time 6.6% top 10% · 5.1k works
  8. 8 Germany · #4 all time 15.2% top 10% · 4.9k works
  9. 9 Saudi Arabia · #22 all time 22.6% top 10% · 3k works
  10. 10 Pakistan · #21 all time 23.5% top 10% · 2k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 73 countries ranked in Energy. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Energy

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 69k works
  2. 2 India 17k works
  3. 3 United States 12k works
  4. 4 Russia 5.1k works
  5. 5 Germany 4.9k works
  6. 6 South Korea 4.8k works
  7. 7 United Kingdom 4k works
  8. 8 Iran 3.8k works
  9. 9 Türkiye 3.7k works
  10. 10 Japan 3.6k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 53.9%India: 13.3%United States: 9.5%Russia: 4.0%6 others listed: 19.3%54%largest
China69k · 53.9%India17k · 13.3%United States12k · 9.5%Russia5,149 · 4.0%6 others listed25k · 19.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Energy research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Energy on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Tsinghua University and Xi'an Jiaotong University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #1 all time 27.7% top 10% · 1.3k works
  2. 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #2 all time 29.5% top 10% · 859 works
  3. 3 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #14 all time 26.0% top 10% · 920 works
  4. 4 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei · #6 all time 31.5% top 10% · 593 works
  5. 5 Central South University China · Changsha · #33 all time 25.3% top 10% · 579 works
  6. 6 Xiamen University China · Xiamen · #19 all time 28.8% top 10% · 376 works
  7. 7 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #15 all time 28.4% top 10% · 620 works
  8. 8 Tianjin University China · Tianjin · #13 all time 24.5% top 10% · 735 works
  9. 9 China University of Mining and Technology China · Xuzhou · #18 all time 24.0% top 10% · 342 works
  10. 10 China University of Petroleum, East China China · Qingdao · #57 all time 24.6% top 10% · 357 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 694 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Energy.

Top 100 Energy institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 1.3k works
  2. 2 North China Electric Power University China 940 works
  3. 3 Xi'an Jiaotong University China 920 works
  4. 4 Tsinghua University China 859 works
  5. 5 Tianjin University China 735 works
  6. 6 Harbin Institute of Technology China 706 works
  7. 7 Zhejiang University China 663 works
  8. 8 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China 640 works
  9. 9 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 620 works
  10. 10 University of Science and Technology of China China 593 works

Who are the leading researchers in Energy?

Among the most productive authors in Energy, Jens K. Nørskov, Seyedali Mirjalili and Henry J. Snaith rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Jens K. Nørskov Denmark · #84 worldwide 9.8k citations · 144 works
  2. 2 Seyedali Mirjalili Australia · #98 worldwide 7.6k citations · 164 works
  3. 3 Henry J. Snaith United Kingdom · #217 worldwide 6.6k citations · 125 works
  4. 4 Thomas F. Jaramillo United States · #1,020 worldwide 5.5k citations · 98 works
  5. 5 Anders Hagfeldt Sweden · #1,363 worldwide 4.6k citations · 126 works
  6. 6 Michaël Grätzel Switzerland · #1,491 worldwide 13k citations · 436 works
  7. 7 William D. Nordhaus United States · #1,588 worldwide 2k citations · 107 works
  8. 8 Ib Chorkendorff Denmark · #1,950 worldwide 3.7k citations · 136 works
  9. 9 Remus Teodorescu Denmark · #2,005 worldwide 4.2k citations · 198 works
  10. 10 Yi Cui United States · #2,076 worldwide 5k citations · 138 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,669 highest-output authors in Energy. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Energy researchers

Where is Energy research done?

The largest centres of Energy research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Nanjing (China) and Wuhan (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Shahreẕā and Siping.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 11k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 4.2k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 3.7k works
  4. 4 Wuhan China 3k works
  5. 5 Xi'an China 2.9k works
  6. 6 Guangzhou China 2.5k works
  7. 7 Tianjin China 2.5k works
  8. 8 Hangzhou China 2.1k works
  9. 9 Moscow Russia 1.9k works
  10. 10 Chengdu China 1.9k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ShahreẕāIR · 21.7 works13×
  2. SipingCN · 101.6 works9.5×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Energy than the world average.

See Energy on the map

Energy research by country

The best places for Energy research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Energy?

Among universities, judged by research, City University of Hong Kong, Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Shenzhen University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 28.81%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →City University of Hong Kong: 297, 36.6%Beijing University of Chemical Technology: 493, 27.2%Shenzhen University: 348, 28.2%The University of Adelaide: 157, 41.1%Khalifa University of Science and Technology: 187, 24.1%King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: 355, 23.0%University of Science and Technology of China: 593, 31.5%King Khalid University: 188, 23.6%Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University: 141, 27.2%Babol Noshirvani University of Technology: 108, 25.6%The University of Ad…City University of H…Shenzhen UniversityBeijing University o…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong 57.036.6%2.7×297 +55.1%
2Beijing University of Chemical Technology China 56.327.2%6.0×493 +88.7%
3Shenzhen University China 53.728.2%2.5×348 +587.8%
4The University of Adelaide Australia 53.741.1%2.0×157 +126.9%
5Khalifa University of Science and Technology United Arab Emirates 53.624.1%4.1×187 +814.2%
6King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals Saudi Arabia 53.023.0%5.4×355 +88.6%
7University of Science and Technology of China China 52.931.5%2.6×593 +89.3%
8King Khalid University Saudi Arabia 52.623.6%2.7×188 +378.4%
9Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia 52.627.2%2.9×141 +330.4%
10Babol Noshirvani University of Technology Iran 52.425.6%6.6×108 +591.6%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Energy research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 49% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques, Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems and Mechanical Systems and Engineering.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques+530%
  2. Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems+458%
  3. Mechanical Systems and Engineering+438%
  4. Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques+429%
  5. CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts+423%
  6. Advanced Energy Technologies and Civil Engineering Innovations+412%
  7. Power Systems and Renewable Energy-41%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Energy include?

Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques: 106k fractional worksElectrocatalysts for Energy Conversion: 89k fractional worksAlgal biology and biofuel production: 53k fractional worksTiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells: 48k fractional worksPower Systems and Renewable Energy: 40k fractional worksSolar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems: 37k fractional worksEnergy, Environment, and Transportation Policies: 37k fractional worksPhotovoltaic System Optimization Techniques: 37k fractional worksHybrid Renewable Energy Systems: 35k fractional worksGlobal Energy and Sustainability Research: 33k fractional worksIron oxide chemistry and applications: 26k fractional worksCO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts: 21k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.