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Subfield · Energy

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment is a subfield of Energy. Science Explorer counts 598k research works in it since 1950. 19.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: energy collected from renewable resources.

Research works
598k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
119k
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
22
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+51%
the tick is no change

What is Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research about, and what is growing?

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

▲ 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◆ 0.99×4 topics
  2. Nanomaterials82k◆ 1.05×3 topics
  3. Solar Energy55k▲ 1.45×2 topics
  4. Visible Light53k◆ 1.02×2 topics
  5. CO2 Reduction49k▲ 1.62×2 topics
  6. Renewable Energy44k◆ 0.99×11 topics
  7. Photocatalyst42k▲ 1.54×1 topic
  8. Semiconductor42k▲ 1.54×1 topic
  9. Catalysts36k▲ 1.26×2 topics
  10. Electrocatalysis36k▲ 1.26×2 topics
  11. Fuel Cells30k◆ 1.05×2 topics
  12. Energy Conversion29k◆ 1.12×1 topic
  13. Oxygen Reduction29k◆ 1.12×1 topic
  14. Energy Efficiency20k◆ 0.87×4 topics
  15. Sustainability18k▼ 0.77×6 topics
  16. Environmental Impact16k◆ 1.12×3 topics
  17. Nanostructures15k▼ 0.45×2 topics
  18. Consumption13k▲ 1.26×1 topic
  19. Rebound Effect13k▲ 1.26×1 topic
  20. Photovoltaic/Thermal Hybrid Technology13k▲ 1.45×1 topic
  21. Solar Thermal Collectors13k▲ 1.45×1 topic
  22. Biodiesel13k▼ 0.86×1 topic
  23. Microalgae13k▼ 0.86×1 topic
  24. Maximum Power Point Tracking13k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  25. Photovoltaic Arrays13k▲ 1.22×1 topic
  26. Climate Change11k▼ 0.68×2 topics
  27. Photocatalysis11k▼ 0.44×1 topic
  28. Solar Cells11k▼ 0.44×1 topic
  29. Molecular Catalysis9,119▲ 1.26×2 topics
  30. EROI7,580▼ 0.67×1 topic
  31. Fossil Fuels7,580▼ 0.67×1 topic
  32. Carbon Dioxide7,422▲ 2.4×1 topic
  33. Renewable Fuels7,422▲ 2.4×1 topic
  34. Solar Desalination7,380▲ 1.85×1 topic
  35. Water Scarcity7,380▲ 1.85×1 topic
  36. Energy Consumption5,596▼ 0.78×2 topics
  37. Industrial Sector4,722◆ 1.01×1 topic
  38. Manufacturing4,722◆ 1.01×1 topic
  39. Hematite4,656▼ 0.49×1 topic
  40. Photoelectrodes4,656▼ 0.49×1 topic

Which countries lead Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment. By volume, China and India publish the most (59k and 15k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #1 all time 23.9% top 10% · 59k works
  2. 2 United States · #2 all time 15.9% top 10% · 10k works
  3. 3 India · #6 all time 13.5% top 10% · 15k works
  4. 4 Australia · #5 all time 25.8% top 10% · 2.2k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #3 all time 20.8% top 10% · 3.2k works
  6. 6 Germany · #4 all time 14.7% top 10% · 4.1k works
  7. 7 Türkiye · #12 all time 18.2% top 10% · 2.8k works
  8. 8 Saudi Arabia · #17 all time 22.1% top 10% · 2.7k works
  9. 9 Pakistan · #18 all time 23.9% top 10% · 1.8k works
  10. 10 South Korea · #10 all time 18.2% top 10% · 4.3k 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 68 countries ranked in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 59k works
  2. 2 India 15k works
  3. 3 United States 10k works
  4. 4 South Korea 4.3k works
  5. 5 Germany 4.1k works
  6. 6 Iran 3.3k works
  7. 7 Japan 3.2k works
  8. 8 United Kingdom 3.2k works
  9. 9 Russia 3k works
  10. 10 France 2.9k 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: 54.6%India: 13.9%United States: 9.5%South Korea: 4.0%6 others listed: 18.2%55%largest
China59k · 54.6%India15k · 13.9%United States10k · 9.5%South Korea4,283 · 4.0%6 others listed20k · 18.2%

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

Which institutions lead Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Tsinghua University and University of Science and Technology of China.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #1 all time 27.8% top 10% · 1.2k works
  2. 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #2 all time 33.6% top 10% · 645 works
  3. 3 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei · #5 all time 31.5% top 10% · 572 works
  4. 4 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #19 all time 27.9% top 10% · 716 works
  5. 5 Tianjin University China · Tianjin · #9 all time 26.6% top 10% · 622 works
  6. 6 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #14 all time 28.2% top 10% · 581 works
  7. 7 Central South University China · Changsha · #35 all time 25.7% top 10% · 528 works
  8. 8 Nankai University China · Tianjin · #16 all time 32.3% top 10% · 453 works
  9. 9 Hunan University China · Changsha · #6 all time 36.7% top 10% · 401 works
  10. 10 Jiangsu University China · Zhenjiang · #22 all time 24.1% top 10% · 568 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 563 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment.

Top 100 Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 1.2k works
  2. 2 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 716 works
  3. 3 Tsinghua UniversityChina 645 works
  4. 4 Tianjin UniversityChina 622 works
  5. 5 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 605 works
  6. 6 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 581 works
  7. 7 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina 572 works
  8. 8 Jiangsu UniversityChina 568 works
  9. 9 Central South UniversityChina 528 works
  10. 10 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 491 works

Who are the leading researchers in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment?

Among the most productive authors in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, 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 Johan Rockström Germany · #967 worldwide 3.9k citations · 93 works
  5. 5 Thomas F. Jaramillo United States · #1,020 worldwide 5.5k citations · 98 works
  6. 6 Anders Hagfeldt Sweden · #1,363 worldwide 4.6k citations · 126 works
  7. 7 Michaël Grätzel Switzerland · #1,491 worldwide 13k citations · 436 works
  8. 8 William D. Nordhaus United States · #1,588 worldwide 2k citations · 107 works
  9. 9 Ib Chorkendorff Denmark · #1,950 worldwide 3.7k citations · 136 works
  10. 10 Remus Teodorescu Denmark · #2,005 worldwide 4.2k citations · 198 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,622 highest-output authors in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment researchers

Where is Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research done?

The largest centres of Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 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, Siping and Mohali.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 8.5k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 3.4k works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 3.1k works
  4. 4 Wuhan China 2.5k works
  5. 5 Xi'an China 2.4k works
  6. 6 Tianjin China 2.2k works
  7. 7 Guangzhou China 2k works
  8. 8 Hangzhou China 1.8k works
  9. 9 Qingdao China 1.7k works
  10. 10 Seoul South Korea 1.6k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ShahreẕāIR · 21.5 works16×
  2. SipingCN · 100.5 works11×
  3. Mohali45.9 works10.0×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment than the world average.

See Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment on the map

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment?

Among universities, judged by research, Hunan University, Beijing University of Chemical Technology and City University of Hong Kong 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 30.85%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Hunan University: 401, 36.7%Beijing University of Chemical Technology: 480, 27.0%City University of Hong Kong: 281, 37.1%Babol Noshirvani University of Technology: 103, 26.1%The University of Adelaide: 145, 42.7%Jiangsu University: 568, 24.1%Qingdao University of Science and Technology: 445, 20.4%Shenzhen University: 330, 28.4%Fuzhou University: 480, 29.9%China University of Geosciences: 239, 36.1%City University of H…Hunan UniversityBeijing University o…Babol Noshirvani Uni…
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
1 Hunan UniversityChina 60.636.7%3.6×401 +172.8%
2 Beijing University of Chemical TechnologyChina 58.227.0%7.0×480 +103.2%
3 City University of Hong KongHong Kong 54.937.1%3.1×281 +55.2%
4 Babol Noshirvani University of TechnologyIran 54.626.1%7.6×103 +879.3%
5 The University of AdelaideAustralia 53.542.7%2.1×145 +132.6%
6 Jiangsu UniversityChina 53.424.1%4.8×568 +124.2%
7 Qingdao University of Science and TechnologyChina 53.320.4%7.6×445 +92.4%
8 Shenzhen UniversityChina 53.228.4%2.8×330 +708.2%
9 Fuzhou UniversityChina 53.129.9%5.4×480 +46.4%
10 China University of GeosciencesChina 52.936.1%3.3×239 +124.8%

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 Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 51% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques and Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems.

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. Energy and Environmental Sustainability+1223%
  2. Photovoltaic System Optimization Techniques+530%
  3. Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems+458%
  4. Mechanical Systems and Engineering+438%
  5. Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques+429%
  6. CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts+423%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment 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 worksSolar Thermal and Photovoltaic Systems: 37k fractional worksEnergy, Environment, and Transportation Policies: 37k fractional worksPhotovoltaic System Optimization Techniques: 37k fractional worksGlobal Energy and Sustainability Research: 33k fractional worksIron oxide chemistry and applications: 26k fractional worksCO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts: 21k fractional worksSolar-Powered Water Purification Methods: 20k fractional worksEnergy Efficiency and Management: 15k fractional works

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