BMC Energy opened for submissions on 14^th August and was officially launched at the American Chemical Society Fall Meeting in Boston with a reception held at the Springer Nature booth. The journal is broad in scope and sits within the BMC Series, adhering to the BMC values of openness and inclusion. Whilst the journal covers all aspects of energy research, there is a distinct focus on sustainable energy.

The topic of energy research was chosen for this latest launch due to the increasing importance and the growth in research output of this field. Across the globe governments and businesses are investing in alternative energy sources, and this topic forms a key part of the Springer Nature Grand Challenges program. Springer Nature has outlined 5 challenges that are of global relevance to ensure a sustainable future, and the grand challenges program aims to bring together the best research published by Springer Nature, to highlight this to key influencers able to implement real world solutions.

BMC Energy brings together researchers, industrialists and policy-makers to publish quality, scientifically sound research that can be read and used by anyone. By publishing all research fully open access and strongly encouraging the sharing of data, the journal wishes to facilitate communication and the sharing of information, removing barriers to discovery. It also forms part of BMC’s expansion plans to publish quality, open science beyond the fields of biology and medicine.

BMC Energy is divided into 6 sections, led by world-renowned experts in their respective fields. The journal also has a strong, international editorial board, which is chaired by Distinguished Professor Sang Yup Lee, a highly respected thought leader in chemical and biomolecular engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

“Worldwide energy demand is rapidly increasing due to the population growth. This is even more so due to the pursuit of improved quality of life and emergence of the so called fourth industrial revolution. On the other hand, we need to properly address climate change and other environmental problems. BMC Energy, the new journal launched by BMC, will serve as a multi-disciplinary journal covering all the important subtopics related to energy. I am glad to serve as the Founding Chair of the Editorial Board, which comprises leaders in the field. It is hoped that this journal will serve as a high quality platform to share important research on energy.” Dr Sang Yup Lee

The journal sections are as follows:

• Solar thermal energy
• Bioenergy (biofuels, biomass and biogas)
• Low carbon energy sources
• Carbon capture, storage and applications
• Energy storage
• Energy systems, processes, planning and policy

We also attended ACS Fall last week and held a reception and ‘meet the editor’ session to celebrate the launch of BMC Energy and BMC Chemical Engineering, which launched in June 2018.

We will also be attending the AIChE Annual Meeting in October and IMECE in November, so if you are also attending, do get in touch to arrange a meeting (harriet.manning@springernature.com).