Energy Efficiency First 1 (2024) 100001

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Energy Efficiency First

Energy efficiency first – First fuel and first principles

This editorial is prepared for and dedicated to the launch of Elsev­ Energy efficiency is therefore a fundamental measure of transfer and
ier’s open-access journal Energy Efficiency First. transformation, and is emerging as a master variable describing change.
Energy efficiency is a fascinating concept in science and an important Its significance has attracted attentions and inspired studies from diverse
tool for society. It is ubiquitous in many aspects of human activities and fields of science, technology, engineering, economics, management, and
has been studied in diverse fields and industries. It is also highly varied policy.
and widely diffused, making it very challenging to bring all possible In the 1970s, when the increasing consumption of and heavy de­
resources to bear, achieve comprehensive understanding, and realize its pendency on petroleum of the industrial world were severely disrupted
full potential. by the price shocks of oil embargo, governments and societies responded
Energy Efficiency First aims to change that by bringing structure, by diversifying energy resources and promoting energy conservation.
focus and highlight to this concept, its studies and applications across Amory Lovins, a leading proponent of renewable energy, promoted the
multiple fields and industries, to benefit broader sectors of research concept of energy efficiency to avoid some negative connotation asso­
communities, economies and societies. This journal will first focus on ciated with conservation (ref. Lovins). This repositioning incorporated
the worldwide urgent needs for efficient responses to grand challenges intelligence and technology into the crisis responses, and led to suc­
in climate and environmental actions, energy and economic transitions, cessive efficiency programs from using less, to efficiency as an energy
and inclusive and sustainable development. resource, and toward resource acquisition for broader and more inte­
The extended editorial covers a brief history of the concept, its grated system efficiency gains. Over time, energy efficiency emerged as
studies and uses, provides a starting point to build a new framework a commonly accepted “first fuel”, and standards established for appli­
based on first principles, and introduces the reasons, aims and scope of ances, buildings, vehicles, and many industries with corresponding
this new endeavor. labels.
The rapid emergence and rising prominence of energy efficiency
1. A brief history and overview of energy efficiency fostered extensive research and policy. A recent review by a group of
leading researchers and scholars examined what research has delivered
Efficiency is a measure of processes of changes. Energy efficiency is a in the last 40 years (ref. Saunders et al.). The review covered the defi­
concept first developed and deployed after the first energy crisis in nitions, historical trends, efficiency gap and grounds for policy inter­
1970s – using less energy to produce greater economic output. vention, policies used to improve efficiency, wider consequences with
It is worthwhile to review the related words and concepts, and seek emphasis on rebound effects, role of innovation, and methodological
to understand the fundamental processes and properties that define and frontiers. The review made it clear that there is no universal definition,
determine energy efficiency, its limit, dynamics and impact. significant uncertainty remains, and much more research is needed to
The word “efficient” means capable of producing desired results with understand energy efficiency and its impact, with methodological im­
little or no waste of time or materials. Correspondingly, “efficiency” provements and richer datasets.
indicates the quality or degree of being efficient, or more specifically, Scientifically, the pursuit and study of energy efficiency started much
the ratio of useful energy delivered by a dynamic system to the energy earlier, although not at a broad and fundamental level with the same
supplied to it. name. During the First Industrial Revolution, the increasing use of steam
If we look at the concept from a fundamental perspective, energy is engines, powered by coal, led to intense efforts to develop ever more
an elementary entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a powerful and efficient machines, and to understand the basis and limit
system in the production of physical changes within the system and of efficiency. The most prominent achievement is the Carnot efficiency
usually regarded as the capacity for doing work. As a concept in natural discovered in 1824 by Sadi Carnot (ref. Carnot), one of the pioneering
philosophy and science, energy has evolved over thousands of years, scientists studying steam engines and heat, and often described as the
through many forms and definitions, to become what modern physics “Father of Thermodynamics”. Carnot efficiency is the maximum thermal
regards as THE fundamental property and building block of our uni­ efficiency in a heat engine, and a cornerstone concept in thermody­
verse, that is conserved and equivalent to mass. namics that led to the discovery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Because of this fundamental nature, energy is the building founda­ It defines the limit of energy efficiency in heat engines, and such studies
tion and driving force for all aspects of changes in the world. In other to determine fundamental energy efficiency limits created the science of
words, economic and social activities are varied forms of transfer or thermodynamics.
transformation of energy. Carnot efficiency is achieved in an idealized Carnot engine which

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undergoes perfectly reversible processes without energy loss through of metabolic rates of organisms is based on competing energy effi­
mechanical and thermal interactions, or without an increase in entropy. ciencies in body masses (refs. Kleiber, Ballesteros). The uneven, and
The engine must be in thermal equilibrium throughout its cycle. This is, possibly bimodal distribution of global organic masses across the body
however, not the case in practice or where dynamic systems are not in size spectrum may be the natural selection result based on energy effi­
equilibrium. ciency since the largest organisms have the highest internal body effi­
Some leading scientists such as James Maxwell and Leo Szilard ciency, while the smallest organisms have the most direct access to
pondered the validity of the second law at small scales or in the context external energy hence the highest acquisition efficiency. When evolu­
of information processing. The theoretical breakthroughs in fluctuation tion selects the fittest, it almost certainly includes energy efficiency.
theorems and stochastic thermodynamics enabled a consistent thermo­ How are other fitness criteria related to or influenced by energy effi­
dynamics description of small-scale systems operating arbitrarily far- ciency? Or are they varied forms of efficiency at different scales and
from-equilibrium, and emerging studies of stochastic energy efficiency scopes with different spatial, temporal or other external constraints? Is
and its probabilistic distribution (ref. Verley). fittest the most energy efficient in that environment during that period?
Physical chemist Ilya Prigogine first developed a general formulation Are intelligence and consciousness the result and self-reenforcing force
of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, then extended to systems far of increasing energy efficiency since future possibilities and potential
from equilibrium to uncover bifurcations, chaos and a new order of consequences can be simulated with minimum energy for desired goals?
dissipative structure (ref. Prigogine). Along this line of studies, theo­ Are heuristics and biases in human psychology and behaviors remnants
retical understanding is emerging on the general thermodynamic or signs of bounded energy efficiency?
mechanism for self-organization via absorbed energy, which is Step-increases or quantum-jumps in energy efficiency had created
dissipative-driven adaptation (ref. England). In these dissipative-driven species, elevated civilizations, and changed the world repeatedly
self-organized structures, energy is extracted from their environment as throughout history. When our ancestors learned to use fire, the bio-
efficiently as possible, or with maximum energy efficiency, while energy efficiency from food increased substantially, allowing excess
increasing entropy production in the environment and overall. energy to grow brain and develop intelligence. When agriculture
Physicist Geoffrey West (ref. West) and Mechanical Engineer Adrian emerged, collective and seasonal efficiency jumped up from hunting and
Bejan (ref. Bejan) developed theories for optimizing space-filling fractal foraging, supporting much larger populations and increasingly more
networks that supplies energy, resources, and information to, and sophisticated organizations and activities. Access to enormous hydro­
remove wastes from complex adaptive systems to achieve optimal sys­ power led to great efficiency gains that created the ancient centers of
tem efficiency across all scales. While their approaches are different, one civilizations along river basins. Specialization and cooperation,
analytical and the other constructal, a key outcome is similar and increased intake of sugar and use of fossil fuels and electricity improved
applicable to systems with very universal features, such as fluid flows, societal efficiency so much that successive industrial revolutions had
organisms, cities, and companies. An important difference is that in non- launched the world economies into a new paradigm of sustained expo­
intelligent evolved or self-organized systems, there is diminishing return nential growth of much higher speed than possible in the past.
and growth is sub-exponential, while in intelligent systems, there can be During early stages of large increases in newly available forms of
constant or even accelerating returns, and growth can be exponential or energy, it may appear that speedy access and utilization are more
even super-exponential. important than efficiency (ref. Lotka). Energy efficiencies of specific
Since Newton’s laws, Maxwell’s equations, Einstein’s theory of rel­ technologies using new energies are also typically very low, e.g., the
ativity, quantum mechanics, and many other theories in physics can be steam engines during the early days of the First Industrial Revolution
formulated by and derived from the principle of least action, it follows were less than 3 % efficient. But this perception appears incomplete or
that the coarse-grained dynamics and structures of complex adaptive mistaken. The newly available forms of energy, if they were to have
systems may be studied and structured similarly. much use and great impact, should have much higher efficiencies than
Least action implies maximum efficiency. Does this indicate that existing ones - either higher mass-to-energy efficiency, higher mass
energy efficiency has already been deeply embedded in many scientific energy efficiency, higher efficiencies in extraction, land use, and speed,
theories and engineering principles, or masked by various forms and in some combinations or with all of them (ref. Smil). Speeds of access
names in many fields of studies and practices? For example, are and utilization are also fundamentally dynamic aspects of efficiency,
symmetry-breaking bifurcations influenced or determined by energy that is, energy efficiency in time. Transition from traditional biomass
efficiency? Chemical reactions are essentially transfers and trans­ and other renewable energies to coal and other fossil fuels is one
formations of energies to reconfigure matters, and they are determined example of higher efficiencies in all of the above, but lower in energy
by component energetics and entropy productions among other factors. efficiency constrained by carbon or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
How are reaction rates and product selections related to or determined and safety (see later).
by energy efficiencies? By lowering activation energy and increasing Modern renewables such as solar photovoltaics and wind power
product selectivity, catalysts improve efficiency of reactions. How have present very interesting cases for studies of energy efficiency. So are
energy efficiency changed and will change chemical, material and bio­ battery storage and electric vehicle. While their energy efficiencies are
logical engineering? substantially higher than the traditional renewables, the limits seem low
The possible roles and contributions of energy efficiency are not in comparison to thermal efficiencies realized in modern fossil fueled
confined to natural sciences. For example, modern economics built upon energy systems. However, their speeds of production and deployment
the foundational theory of Adam Smith can be viewed and understood as are among the fastest in the history of energy transitions, indicating very
creating and accumulating wealth through optimizing system effi­ high dynamic efficiencies at system levels. One key advantage of these
ciencies, for which he intuited that fundamentally wealth came from technologies and systems is their high carbon-constrained energy effi­
farming the land (harvesting solar energy) in his time. How important is ciency, having low to zero carbon or GHG emissions. Since their origins
energy efficiency in economies? How does it work and influence of energy are from the Sun, outside Earth, the speedy uses at scale and
competitiveness? How are the varied efficiencies in economy, business, improving specific efficiencies in such an open planetary system will be
market, management, policy and information related to or determined much more sustainable compared to that of fossil fuels. Heavy reliance
by energy efficiency? of fossil fuels turned the energy system on Earth into a nearly closed
We can deduce with high certainty that energy efficiency has been at system, and large scale uses and increasing existing efficiencies only lead
work in nature throughout times. Evolution has always strongly favored to faster internal entropy production that cannot be sustained and has
energy efficiency since access to energy had been difficult and available become increasingly damaging.
energy scarce. The well-known and still controversial allometric scaling With the accelerating scientific and technological innovations,

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exemplified at the present by clean energy, novel material, genetic en­ comprehensive energy sciences and high impact innovations.
gineering, space exploration, quantum computing, artificial intelli­ Another basic form of energy efficiency is the heating value of a fuel,
gence, and merging of physical and digital, many fields and industries of a measure of energy density, or efficiency based on mass. It ranges from
human endeavors will be increasingly defined and impacted by effi­ 10 to 55 MJ/kg for hydrocarbons including biomass, fossil and synthetic
ciency of many kinds, likely determined at the most basic level by, or fuels, 120–142 MJ/kg for hydrogen, to over 500 GJ/kg for natural
very positively correlated with energy efficiency. Can we understand uranium in light water-cooled reactors, which is over 10,000 times
better the mechanisms and principles at work and utilize them for the higher than chemical fuels, and nearly 30,000 GJ/kg in fast neutron
greater benefits of life, intelligence, and the world? Will there be a new reactors. This mass-based energy efficiency determines the trans­
science of energy efficiency? Is maximizing energy efficiency the central portability and storability of fuels, and is a varied form of the funda­
principle for living and designed systems? How will it change and re- mental mass-to-energy efficiency. It is particularly important in heavy
shape sciences of and applications in engineering, technology, eco­ duty and long duration mobile uses, and for stability, reliability and
nomics, management, and policy? Can more inclusive system efficiency safety in systems of variable productions and unmatched consumptions.
with expanded boundaries or reconfigured structures improve equity, Besides primary energies, we use secondary energies or energy car­
resilience and sustainability? How will it impact the future of econo­ riers. The most prominent ones are electricity, hydrogen and various
mies, societies, and civilizations? forms of synthetic hydrocarbons, or ammonia as an emerging non-
carbon fuel.
2. A first principles approach to reframe energy efficiency There are a variety of energy efficiencies measuring the transfer,
transformation, storage and recovery of primary and secondary en­
Let’s start by looking at different forms of energy and their funda­ ergies. As a counterpart to Carnot efficiency for heat engines, we can
mental properties and transformation processes. construct an energy efficiency that measures chemical reactions in en­
All forms of energy are either kinetic or potential. Kinetic energy ergy applications. For instance, the efficiency of fuel cells, which
associated with motion include mechanical, thermal, and electric en­ transform chemical energy in fuels into electricity directly, can be
ergy, and electromagnetic radiation. Potential energy associated with expressed as a ratio of the converted energy to heating value, thermal
position or arrangement include gravitational, electromagnetic, strong energy extracted via combustion (ref. Larminie). This example also
and weak nuclear potential energy. Fundamentally, we can view all demonstrates that beyond the fundamental efficiency measuring the
forms of energy as originated and transformed from the four types of fraction of energy converted from mass, process efficiencies are relative
potential energy because they are embedded in the elementary struc­ to other transformations, reflecting the complexity of energy systems,
tures and interactions of our universe. transformation processes, and human needs and values.
The primary energy sources we use today can be categorized Catalysis is an important process that leads to faster and more
accordingly. Fossil fuels contain chemical energy, a form of electro­ energy-efficient chemical reactions. By lowering activation energy, the
magnetic potential energy which are captured, converted, processed and energy barrier to overcome for a reaction to occur, and increasing
stored solar energy through photosynthesis, biological, thermophysical selectivity, directing a reaction to increase desired product and reduce
and chemical processes over geological times. byproducts, catalysts increase energy efficiency, and have become an
Biomass is similar to fossil fuels, but contains solar energy captured, essential and fast-growing part of chemical industry. Catalytic efficiency
converted and stored at the present. is a varied form of energy efficiency.
Oxygen, a product of photosynthesis, contains significant amount of Another energy efficiency with rapidly increasing importance is
received solar energy but is considered as a reactant in combustion or electric motor efficiency. The energy transition has accelerated electri­
aid to burning. It is not a catalyst, but a main oxidizer in combustion. fication of transportation and other industrial and agricultural sectors.
Should oxygen be considered instead as a source of primary energy? If The majority of energy losses is through resistive heating, and the
so, it will change several aspects of conventional energy sciences, electric motor efficiency is several times higher than that of internal
including energy density of chemical fuels, feasibility and efficiency of combustion engine. The overall efficiency of electric vehicles, or elec­
chemical energy systems, and energy economics. It may help improve trified machines and systems from sources to end uses, including con­
the universality of energy sciences. tributions from transportation or transmission, require more extensive
Solar energy is electromagnetic radiation of the strong and weak and systematic analysis. This issue is a part of a paradox in unit effi­
nuclear energy from fusion in the Sun. Solar thermal energy is solar ciency gains coming at the expense of overall system efficiency – higher
energy transformed into random motions of microscopic particles. Solar rate of electrification leads to more rejected energies (waste heat from
photovoltaic energy is solar energy transformed via photo-electric power plants and engines) in the current fuel-burning dominated energy
conversion. systems (ref. Smil).
Hydro, wind, wave and tidal powers are kinetic energy from trans­ If we start with the fundamental energy efficiencies, and trace
formations of gravitational energy of Earth and Moon, combined with through the origins and transformations of particular end uses, or work,
thermal energy from electromagnetic radiation of solar energy. we can gain valuable insight on the overall efficiencies and relative
Nuclear energy or power we use today are from strong nuclear po­ performances and competitiveness of various energy sources, technol­
tential energy in man-made fission reactors. Fusion energy from man- ogies, and systems. We can also understand better the conventional
made reactors, when realized, will be similar to solar energy. concept of energy efficiency, which is human centered and can some­
Geothermal energy is from nuclear decay heat, transformed from the times lead to distorted perceptions and undesirable outcomes.
weak nuclear potential energy. For example, solar fusion energy has a mass-to-energy efficiency of
The most fundamental energy efficiency measures the fraction of 0.7 %, and photovoltaics can achieve photo-electric efficiency of over
energy converted from mass during transformations (ref. Tegmark). This 25 %, making solar PV having an overall energy efficiency of 0.18 %.
ranges from less than a tenth per billion (10− 10) for bio-energy con­ This is even more efficient than fission at 0.08 %. For man-made energy
version from sugar in food, to a few tenths per billion for burning fossil systems, taking into account the low duty factor (use efficiency) of
fuels (3–5x10− 10). Fission of U-235 converts less than a thousandth (8 × ground-based solar PV, which is less than 20 %, as opposed to over 90 %
10− 4) of mass into energy, but is millions of times more efficient than for nuclear power, the overall efficiencies are 0.03 % for ground PV and
chemical reactions. Fusion of hydrogen into helium converts less than 0.07 % for nuclear fission. We can then consider other factors such as
one percent (7 × 10− 3), nearly ten times more efficient than fission. It is resource availabilities, land uses, capital costs, deployment times, reli­
different from the conventional definition of energy efficiency used in ability services, material cycles, service lives and many others, dynam­
energy industries, but is essential for developing more fundamental and ically and on much firmer grounds. It is noted that the mass-to-energy

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efficiency in the Sun has little impact on human energy productions and incompleteness of such theories without the time dimension or
uses, so this comparison is more academic than practical. As the ex­ dynamics.
amples below show, however, starting from the fundamental origin and Like Carnot efficiency, Betz limit, or others in completely reversible
tracing through all transformation give us a useful method to understand ideal processes that cannot be realized in practice, energy efficiency
different forms of energy. limits represent boundaries of possibilities. Within such limits, all is
Another example is wind power. From solar heat to air motion, the possible and time is of the essence in change. The concept of energy
energy efficiency limit may be estimated from thermal efficiency to be return on investment, when properly calculated, is potentially useful in
no more than 10 %. From kinetic wind energy to spin turbines that defining not limits but boundaries between energy producing and
generate electricity, the efficiency is bounded by the Betz limit of 59.3 consuming systems. But such boundaries are blurring or fading away as
%, so the overall efficiency from solar heat to electricity is less than 6 %, systems become more complex and productions and consumptions
or mass-to-electricity efficiency less than 0.04 %. Taking into account an merge. Energy efficiency and its dynamics, when properly constructed
average duty factor of less than 40 % for land-based wind turbines, the and applied, will likely influence or even determine the probabilistic
overall energy efficiency through this chain of transformations, a third distribution of possible outcomes.
order effect from solar energy, is less than 0.016 %. In addition to other Just like energy, mass, entropy and information that show up over
factors, wind energy is widely and deeply integrated into the natural and over at all levels and in many fields of sciences and human en­
energy systems on Earth, hence likely to have significant albeit very deavors, energy efficiency and its variants keep coming up. It is
distributed impact on the environment, ecosystems, and climate when instructive to review and reimagine some of them here.
deployed at large scale. The energy intensity of economies is measured by the quantity of
Hydropower is similar to wind power in this regard but with even energy required per unit output or activity, so that using less energy to
more complicated transformations. The main difference is that the produce a product reduces the intensity. According to the US Depart­
working medium, water, is hundreds of times denser than air, and it is ment of Energy (DOE), efficiency improvements, structural changes, and
possible to concentrate and store large amount of water for very long behavioral factors can contribute to observed changes in energy in­
times. Consequently, the overall efficiency may be higher but depends tensity, but their effects are intertwined and output is heterogenous.
much more on gravitational energy incorporated, and the impact is also Only in case of a specific technology, efficiency and intensity are
much more concentrated. essentially the same – one is the inverse of another.
The analysis of biomass is harder still. Taking into account partially The commonly used intensity is calculated as energy used per GDP
captured sun light and numerous losses in photosynthesis and subse­ produced. But this number has little information content without the
quent conversions, a general efficiency is estimated to be 3–6% of total underlying structural and behavioral details. For example, the observed
solar radiation. This makes the mass-to-stored energy efficiency of decoupling of energy intensity and economic growth in high income
biomass at 0.02–0.04 %. Biomass is an integral and important part of the countries may be the aggregated outcome of improved efficiency,
major material cycles on Earth, and the primary source of bio-energy increased services, reduced construction and manufacturing, growing
and nutrients. Hence its use as an alternative energy source must be digital economies, and imported energy embedded in manufactured
very complex and highly constrained. Due to its ability to store sub­ goods. This top-down approach, including what defines the economic
stantial energy over long times, and relatively high energy density output, presents a typical inverse field problem for analyzing and un­
suitable for transportation, i.e., high mass energy efficiency, using some derstanding the mechanisms and contributions of underlying factors or
biomasses for nonfood needs such as a carbon-neutral energy source variables.
should prove valuable, including closing the material cycles started by Is it possible to construct a bottom-up or middle-out framework and
large scale industrial production and consumption, or turning into car­ theory to establish efficiency limits and dynamics, so that the aggregated
bon sinks. indictors such as energy intensity and economic output or productivity
This leads us to fossil fuels. They are stored energy and carbon sinks are self-emergent, more meaningful, and direction and potential for
from billions of years solar radiation captured on Earth in biomasses. optimization and evolution are more explicit with higher information
While the mass-to-energy efficiency of burning coal, petroleum and efficiency? This is undoubtedly challenging, but it is also not impossible
natural gas is only 3–5x10− 10, a few times higher than bio-energy effi­ given the significant advances in efficiency related sciences and meth­
ciency, the efficiency gain from extracting and using stored and odologies, especially in nonlinear dynamics of complex adaptive sys­
concentrated energy over tens of millions to billions of years is massive. tems, causal inference from natural and non-repeatable observations,
Based on surface area used for extraction, fossil fuels use less than one machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
millionth of that for producing biomasses now, or have million times In that new framework, it is possible to examine the roles and con­
higher land-use energy efficiency. Based on energy made available over tributions, or causes and effects of various commonly used concepts and
expended in extraction at wellhead, the extractive energy efficiency is factors, and make energy efficiency more explicit and its dynamics more
also high, estimated to be above 25:1. Such enormous gains enabled and fundamental and universal. For instance, improving energy resilience
supported successive industrial revolutions and rapid exponential and security may be viewed and treated as increasing dynamic energy
takeoff of modern economies and civilizations. But these great advances efficiency with broader scope and longer duration constrained by the
come at tremendous costs, many of which are just beginning to be health and survival of larger and more complex systems. Effectiveness
broadly recognized and understood - environmental pollution, can be viewed as efficiency directed to or constrained by particular goals
ecosystem damages, resource depletions, and climate change. We will or objectives.
treat this subject later since it is one of the key reasons that incentivized One example of a small step in this direction is the unified framework
us to launch this new journal. of economies of unit scale and production volumes for man-made energy
Developed in the 1980s, energy return on investment is a concept systems (ref. Li). Such reframing, combined with maximum unit scale
examining how organisms, including humans, invest energy into limited by fundamental safety, and higher growth enabled by more
obtaining more energy to improve biotic or social fitness (ref. Hall). The rapid reduction in costs through expansion of production volume, star­
concept had been applied to analyzing various energy sources and sys­ ted to put energy efficiencies based on resources, costs, safety limits and
tems by attempting to consider the whole life cycle costs. It appears that time constraints on similar footings in one mathematically explicit sys­
this is another form of energy efficiency. However, the controversies tem. By combining economies of unit scale and production volumes, and
surrounding this concept and apparent failures in earlier applications to transforming dynamics from volume domain to time domain, we can
energy industries and investments highlight the difficulties in analyzing now develop solutions focusing on time-based efficiencies for time
complex systems and lifecycles (ref. Brockway). It also sheds light on the constrained problems.

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This line of analysis can be extended and applied to clean hydrogen. average about 4 % a year this decade, more than doubling the rates
As low-carbon hydrogen is emerging as a versatile chemical energy realized in the past. It needs the support from many more and across
carrier for decarbonize a range of sectors that have been difficult to multiple fields and industries.
reduce emissions, the complex chains of sources, productions, storages, It is instructive to review and compare the GHG emissions of various
transports and uses of hydrogen and its various fuels and chemicals energy sources. Calculated in terms of tons of CO2-equivalent of GHG
present very challenging tasks for all stakeholders to analyze and choose emissions per gigawatt-hour of electricity over the lifecycle of a power
(ref. [1]). Using carbon as a constraint, and energy efficiency as the plant, including those from mining, transportation and maintenance,
metric to evaluate, we may cut through the clutters quickly and come to they range from a few hundred tons for coal, oil and natural gas, to tens
more rational and optimized options for the directions and pathways of to hundreds for biomass, tens for hydropower, and only a few tons for
transfers and transformations needed. wind, nuclear and solar (ref. Ritchies). If GHG emissions are constrained,
For instance, whether to use batteries or fuel cells to power electric then the corresponding energy efficiencies for fossil fuels will be reduced
vehicles has been a hotly debated subject in efforts to electrify trans­ by over a hundred times in comparison to nuclear and renewable
portation. If we choose low-carbon renewables, e.g. solar PV or wind energies.
turbine, as the primary sources of power, it becomes clear that battery Encouragingly, the cleanest sources of energy are also the safest, as
electric vehicles (BEVs) are more efficient when carrying batteries does estimated in death rate from accidents and air pollution. When
not consume too much energy. When energy losses from carrying bat­ measured as deaths per terawatt-hour of electricity production, they
teries exceeds the conversion efficiency gains in BEVs and their utilities, range from a few tens for coal and oil, several for natural gas, biomass
fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) become a better choice. The industries and hydropower, to less than 0.04 for nuclear, wind and solar. Again, the
and markets are beginning to realize this and the more energy efficient safety-based energy efficiencies for fossil fuels will be reduced by
options are emergent in their respective domains. thousands of times in comparison to nuclear and renewable energies.
Similar approaches can be used to decide which directions and It would be very useful to analyze the GHG-constrained energy ef­
pathways to take for producing hydrogen and the various hydrogen- ficiencies in systems with combined fossil fuel uses and carbon capture,
based compounds as low-carbon fuels or chemicals, with the appro­ utilization and storage (CCUS), including direct air capture (DAC). It is
priate policies, incentives and standards to support and regulate the apparent that CCUS will improve such efficiencies, but the added sys­
industries and markets. tems, processes, energies, costs and consequences will reduce eco­
nomics- and safety-based energy efficiencies. It will need to be viewed
3. First fuel in clean and low-carbon energy transition and valued in light of helping to reduce excessive stranded carbon-based
assets and infrastructures, thus increasing overall economic efficiency
It has become clear that increasing energy efficiency can help resolve for the time being.
multiple challenges in energy simultaneously. Rising energy efficiency We have for the most part focused on the energy production and
can help improve energy affordability and reduce energy poverty, cut supply side so far. It is now time to look at the demand and consumption
emissions to mitigate environmental pollution and climate change, and side for a more comprehensive understanding and outlook.
increase energy security and resilience, all at once. No wonder energy The most widely used and known efficiency measure is the energy
efficiency has emerged and been widely recognized as the first fuel or labels for consumer electric and electronic products. First introduced by
first energy of a sustainable global energy system (ref. Motherway). Australia in 1986, they are now found in over 80 countries. In North
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is the global authority for America, Energy Star label is used to endorse products among the top 25
energy efficiency data, analysis and policy advice. The IEA has an En­ % in its class on the market. The US EnergyGuide labels provides esti­
ergy Efficiency Division, runs programs such as the Energy Efficiency in mates of energy consumption or energy efficiency for appliances,
Emerging Program (E4), the Global Commission for Urgent Action on lighting and plumbing products. In EU and most other countries,
Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficient End-Use Equipment (4E TCP), and comparative energy labels are used to indicate the relative energy effi­
hosts the Secretariat of the Energy Efficiency Hub, a platform for global ciency. Over the years, these energy efficiency labels and programs have
collaboration on energy efficiency. The Hub currently has task groups saved billions of tons of GHG emissions, and hundreds of billions of
working on Digitalization Working Group (DWG), Energy Efficiency in dollars in annual energy bills.
Buildings (EEB), Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment The efficiency of heat pumps is noteworthy here. They are driven by
Initiative (SEAD), Energy Management Action Network (EMAK), and electricity to move thermal energy to where needed or discarded, and air
TOP TENs for best technologies and practices. conditioners are ones that only cool, or move heat away. They can
The IEA publishes in-depth annual analyses of global developments achieve energy efficiencies in heating, or COP (coefficient of perfor­
in energy efficiency markets and policies. Energy Efficiency 2022 (ref. mance), in the range of 3–5, while electric resistive heating has a COP of
[2]) is the most recent report, exploring recent trends in energy in­ 1. Heat pumps could meet over 80 % of global space and water heating
tensity, demand and efficiency-related investment, innovation, policy needs with a lower carbon footprint than gas-fired condensing boilers,
and technology, and discussing key questions facing policy makers. In but they did only 10 % in 2021. This is a case of using one form of energy
response to the ongoing energy crisis exacerbated by geopolitical ten­ to move a different form as work, achieving much higher system energy
sions and conflicts, countries are prioritizing energy efficiency actions. efficiency.
While efficiency investment has been increasing to record levels, the More broadly speaking, this is an example of achieving drastically
pace of global energy intensity improvements had noticeably slowed higher energy efficiency by expanding system boundaries and/or
recently and virtually stalled during the first two years of Covid-19. It is changing system configurations. Other examples include using fat pipes
thus of high interest to question whether 2022 would see a sustained and small pumps in flow systems instead of the other way around;
efficiency turning point. distributed energy and microgrids when resources and needs are
The IEA analysis found that energy efficiency actions taken since distributed or co-generation can provide multiple services; BIPV
2000 had avoided around 15 % of total energy expenditure for IEA (PV+buildings), agrivoltaics (PV+agriculture), and aquavoltaics
countries in 2022. Explosive intensification of geopolitical tensions and (PV+aquaculture); virtual power plants connecting and controlling
conflicts escalated concerns over energy security and inflationary decentralized energy assets with variable generations, flexible loads and
impact of higher energy prices. Several governments in advanced storage capacities; and vertical farming and many others for higher ef­
economies announced significant policy and spending bills that point to ficiencies in resources and land uses, with increased productivities. At
continued efficiency investment and progress for years to come. To the overall energy and power system level, generating power without
achieve Net Zero Emission by 2050, efficiency improvements need to burning fuels, switching to fuels and generators with higher efficiencies,

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developing distributed generations for co-generations and local utiliza­ with a switch from carbon-based sources to non-carbon sources.
tions, using fuels to provide heat in processes directly and so on can Renewable energies, interestingly, are varied transformations of these
improve total energy efficiency. non-carbon nuclear potential energies, especially solar fusion energy,
The vast differences of many orders of magnitude between nuclear with gravitational energy on the margin. Nuclear power and geothermal
and chemical potential energies and mass-to-energy efficiencies also energy are the other terrestrial based non-carbon sources. In terms of
point to tremendous efficiency gains. Chemical reactions can be greatly carbon-constrained energy efficiency, these are all far more superior
enhanced and altered when injected with nuclear energy, such as in than fossil fuels. Energy efficiencies with the right kinds of constraints
nuclear-assisted biofuels refining, materials processing, and pollution and dynamics point to more sustainable pathways for growth and
treatment. optimized solutions for problems.
The possibilities for extreme efficiency gains are endless. One system Some energy efficiency limits cannot be reached in practice because
approach with the highest global potential is electrifying industries and the underlying processes have to be reversible and slow. It is important
economies without combustions where and when possible, since to consider the dynamics of efficiency, or time-based efficiency for real-
burning fossil fuels typically loses over half of the released energy world applications.
through waste heat, in addition to GHG emissions. Thermal energy is Net Zero by 2050 presents a very challenging time-constrained
macroscopic and directionless while electromagnetic energy is problem for the entire world. From around 1800, when the First In­
elementary and directional with inherently low loss and high efficiency. dustrial Revolution started transforming the mostly agrarian societies
However, if the end uses need heat, providing heat directly through into industrial economies, total energy production and consumption has
combustion can be more efficient then using electricity generated from increased exponentially, averaging over 1.5 % every year for over 220
combustion. years, or over 30 times in aggregate. It is also over 80 % reliant on fossil
With the rapid rise of information and communication technologies fuels. If we are to reach Net Zero by 2050, in less than 30 years from now
(ICT), artificial intelligence (AI), and the associated digital economy, it while populations and energy demands continue to grow, we will need
is worthwhile to explore the relevant role and impact of energy effi­ zero-emission or carbon neutral energies to grow well over 10 % every
ciency in that space. year. In essence, we need much faster growing exponential technologies
If we treat information processing, or computing, as using energy to and systems to solve problems in much shorter times created by expo­
transfer and transform information, then the energy efficiencies of such nentially growing economies over much longer periods. Relying on the
engines and systems can be defined and measured, and their limits pace and scale of energy transitions in the past will be far from enough.
estimated. The minimum energy required for generating or transmitting Fortunately, the rapid growths of solar energy and wind power in the
a bit of information, defined by the Shannon-von Neumann-Landauer 21st century have exceeded that 10 % rate by wide margins so far.
(SNL) limit (ref. Bennett), is approximately 10− 21 J. Conversely one Recent explosive growths in power and storage batteries and electric
fundamental limit for energy efficiency of information processing is 1021 vehicles seem to far surpass that rate as well. Total solar radiation
bit/J. In terms of minimum energy needed per quantum computing reaching Earth, originated and transformed from fusion energy, far ex­
operation in unit time, it is possibly limited by the Heisenberg uncer­ ceeds what the world uses now by several orders of magnitude. Acces­
tainty principle for the time-energy conjugate pair. Current technolo­ sible sources of nuclear fuel materials are also abundant and able to
gies, including logic gates, memories, circuits, and supercomputers, are support much larger scale uses. When available energies and accessible
still many orders of magnitude away (ref. Zhirnov). Energy efficiencies resources are not limiting growth, time-based efficiencies can be used
in ICT are improving exponentially, already approaching that of human and improved with higher priorities to resolve urgent energy and
brains in top-ranked supercomputers. But this still leaves many orders of climate crises. Whether these are enough, can be achieved and sus­
magnitude of efficiency gains to be realized. tained, or won’t create worse problems, will be the subjects of extensive
Advances in ICT, networks, digital twins and economies have research and development.
significantly improved efficiencies of all kinds, including energy effi­ As important as they are, energy transition and climate action are not
ciency. The co-existence of diverse energy sources, including variable the only social and economic developmental needs and objectives. There
and intermittent renewables, and energy storage of all kinds, on inter­ are many other important and interesting phenomena to study, pro­
acting grids with unpredictable loads, presents complex challenges that cesses to use, problems to solve, and purposes to pursue. What are the
require substantial capabilities to manage and optimize through smart relevant energy efficiencies? What are their dynamics and limits? How
grids and intelligent systems. Digital twins allow for much more rapid important are they? How do they determine or influence outcomes? Can
and efficient approaches to improve system performance and efficiency, efficiencies be in real conflicts with other human pursuits and values? Or
similar to mental models for human intelligence. Digital economies can are such conflicts symptoms of over-optimizations in certain areas at the
be much more energy efficient than many traditional economies while expenses of larger systems and greater goods? Are there situations where
producing substantial values. efficiencies are not needed or desired, or should be balanced by other
However, improved efficiencies often lead to increased uses, result­ factors?
ing in rebound effects of varied degrees. It can also cause extremely
uneven distributions of outcomes because of the underlying dynamics. 4. To become first in quality and impact for energy efficiency
In case of digital economies, the hard-to-imagine vast possibilities journals
created by combinatorial explosions (factorial) combined with and over
networking effects (geometric) can grow much faster than exponential Elsevier Research Analytics, working at the request of and with Tan
improvement in energy efficiency, potentially leading to overall Kah Kee Innovation Laboratory and Collaborative Innovation of Chem­
increased and accelerating growth of energy consumption. This is istry for Energy Materials of Xiamen University, published a joint report
already evident in the faster growth of power demands in ICT compared on “Landscape and Development Trends of Energy Research” (ref. ELS-
to the other sectors. XMU). Mining data from the full Scopus database, the scholarly output
In the end, increasing energy efficiencies of fossil fuel uses, even with for the Energy Science subject area and its four sub-fields are collected
CCUS if powered mostly by carbon-based energies, orV growing digital and analyzed for the period of 2010–2021. The four sub-fields of interest
economies, cannot achieve the Net-Zero target. It requires fundamental are carbon emission reduction technology, renewable energy, energy
structural changes on the production and supply side, or using different storage and hydrogen energy, and energy efficiency management. In
kinds of energy efficiencies. addition to volumes and shares, the analysis focused on “citation count”
Back to the first principles, the millions of times increase in mass-to- and “Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI)” for assessing quality and
energy efficiency from chemical to nuclear potential energy also comes impact of research activities, and used compound annual growth rate

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(CAGR) as an indicator of development trend. In 1969, AI pioneer and economist Herbert Simon proposed a new
The collection for the energy efficiency sub-field includes over class of sciences – sciences of the artificial (ref. Simon). In addition to
358,000 publications, ranking third in volumes. The quality and impact natural science that is knowledge about natural objects and phenomena,
as measured by FWCI global average is second after Energy Storage and he asked whether there cannot also be “artificial” science—knowledge
Hydrogen Economy, while growth is by far the fastest among all four. about artificial objects and phenomena. He focused on the organization
Energy Efficiency has been a fast-growing field of research with high of complexity and the science of design, and building on the basic theme
quality and broad impact. that a physical symbol system has the necessary and sufficient means for
The Energy Efficiency keyword network has a very prominent central intelligent action. His concept of bounded rationality for economic
keyword “energy efficiency”, with clusters of others based on the agents with limited resources can help clarify the existence and causes of
following groups of keywords: (1) sustainable development, carbon di­ various more limited energy efficiency concepts and practices. We are
oxide, energy policy, emission control, greenhouse gases; (2) energy now living in a world increasingly made or shaped by humans, and
efficiency, energy utilization, solar energy, energy conservation, solar sciences of the artificial are growing in scope and scale at accelerating
power generation; (3) renewable energy resources, energy storage, speeds.
electric power transmission networks, optimization, energy manage­ If intelligence is the ability to accomplish complex goals, then effi­
ment; (4) carbon footprint, agriculture, air quality, methane, biogas. It is ciency is a measure of the degree or level of intelligence. Energy effi­
worthwhile to note that energy efficiency, with solar energy and carbon ciency is likely the foundation and essential component of other
dioxide, also appears in clusters of other sub-fields, especially that of efficiencies – using more energy or overly complicated approach than
Renewable Energy. This is a strong signal of the centrality of energy necessary and sufficient is often more brute force than high intelligence.
efficiency. Advances in knowledge, ability and capacity will help expand bound­
It is, however, severely underrepresented in scientific journals as the aries of rationality and unify varieties of efficiency.
primary subject or theme, and most relevant publications are subsumed With a more unifying science of energy efficiency, many energy-
in other energy related journals. There have been a few recent entrants, related research fields and application matters can be approached
indicating that energy efficiency is emerging as a substantive and with novel perspectives in a new paradigm. Carbon reduction technol­
recognized field of research and development, and potentially a new ogies and renewable energies have increased carbon-constrained effi­
academic discipline. ciencies. Energy storage and hydrogen increase efficiencies based on
Elsevier and its working partners have decided to launch this new stability, reliability, spatial and temporal alignment of supply and de­
journal, Energy Efficiency First, as its flagship entry into this field. mand, security and resilience of energy systems.
The journal is dedicated to the study and advancement of energy Incremental changes in energy efficiencies can be readily promoted
efficiency as the “First Fuel” or “First Energy” in support of achieving and implemented with public policies, institutional standards, industry
Net-Zero through energy and economic transitions. It will bring together regulations and management practices. Innovations can be developed
forces and resources in science, engineering, technology, artificial in­ and deployed with suitable business models, market mechanisms and
telligence, economics, management, and policy, and improve energy industrial policies. Proper choice architectures can be designed and
efficiency under the constraints of carbon and GHG emissions for sus­ suitable and nudges applied (ref. Thaler).
tainable and inclusive development. However, high efficiency or intelligence is often accompanied by
The journal encourages the use of First-Principles thinking and ap­ heightened risks. The risks can be internal to the materials, structures,
proaches to discover, establish, and validate higher level generalized operators or owners of systems, or external to the environment,
laws and principals through diverse research and applications into ecosystem, climate or society. Excessive efficiencies in some parts of
complex adaptive systems, develop and improve engineering and man­ systems, economies or societies may constrain or threaten other parts.
agement methodologies and tools, and provide developmental guidance Inevitably, issues starting from and surrounding energy efficiency, like
and predictive capabilities for engineering, technologies, economics, other matters in science or technology, will move beyond and involve
management, and policies. many stakeholders and decision makers.
The journal will receive and publish original research, reviews, rapid In 1972, nuclear pioneer, administrator and humanitarian Alvin
communications, and case studies in sector areas of energy and power, Weinberg made a very insightful observation and analysis about science
digital economy, transportation, industry, buildings, agriculture, and and trans-science (ref. Weinberg). There are many issues arising from
natural restoration, and in application scenarios from cities, rural areas, interactions between science or technology and society. Some can be
islands, factories, mines, information and communication infrastructure stated in scientific terms and asked of science, but beyond the profi­
to deep seas, space and beyond. ciency of science to answer. Weinberg called them trans-scientific, or
The journal will regularly invite contributions and publish reviews of transcending science. Using specific examples, Weinberg delineated is­
energy efficiencies in sectors and scenarios from leading thinkers and sues that can be asked of and answered by natural sciences, those can be
practitioners in respective subject domains. The board and publisher asked but scientific answers are too expensive or time consuming to
will strive to achieve integrations across fields and disciplines for higher obtain as in engineering with rapidly advancing technologies or in
efficiencies, and remain dedicated to differentiations and innovations unique settings, those cannot be answered due to the inherent agent
that enrich knowledge and society. variability and freedom of choice as in social sciences, and those cannot
The covered scope of research starts at the edge of natural world into be answered within science because they involve value preference and
man-made systems of energy production, transmission, distribution and moral choice. The last three categories in engineering, social sciences
consumption, extending broadly and deeply into economies and soci­ and axiology of science belong to trans-science.
eties, with the constraints by and impacts on the environment, ecosys­ Weinberg proposed that such trans-scientific issues may be debated
tems, climate and society. The contributions must include energy and resolved in the usual institutional procedures, whether political in
efficiency as the first primary theme, and significance and impact to priority setting for resource allocations or adversary in legal and quasi-
economic, social, and human development. legal hearings. Another possible way to resolve some of the unanswer­
In addition to studies of energy efficiency in the existing systems and able questions of public or environmental risk is to perfect the tech­
applications, the journal also encourages studies on engineering and nology to minimize the risk.
management of systems and applications with new or reconfigured As the world becomes more complex and intelligent, boundaries
structures and processes, or interfaces and interactions with the broader between sciences of nature and artificial, and between science and trans-
external, for discovery and implementation of step-changes in efficiency science are moving and blurring. The concept and science of energy
and resilience. efficiency is also evolving and rising in importance and impact in diverse

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N. Li and Y.R. Zhao Energy Efficiency First 1 (2024) 100001

fields of science, engineering, technology, economics, management and US), X.N. Wang (Tsinghua University, CN), T.S. Ge (Shanghai Jiaotong
policy, enhanced by artificial intelligence. University, CN), L. Zhu (Tianjin University, CN), H. Hong (Academy of
More is different (ref. Anderson). Efficiency is at work at the most Sciences, CN), Y.Q. Pan (Tongji University, CN), A. Hechanova (Abu
fundamental level and in many different forms, but it is not the only Dhabi Polytechnic University, AE); and Dr. J.D. Soares (Energy Research
master variable nor self-sufficient to build a theory for everything (ref. Office, BR), Dr. S. Kumar (Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, IN),
Laughlin). Nevertheless, we can follow the examples and heed to the A. Ablaza (Asia-Pacific ESCO Industry Alliance, PH), Dr. X.R. Shen
advices of leading thinkers and doers that by focusing on studying (Zhejiang University, CN), Dr. J.J. He (Tsinghua University, CN), and S.
specific matters deeply and precisely instead of only thinking about V. Sorensen (Danfoss, DK).
general matters broadly and vaguely, we can achieve much improved We had constructive communications and discussions with Pro­
and more universal understanding of the world and begin to change the fessors R.J. Stoner (MIT, US), V. Smil (emeritus, University of Manitoba,
world for the better more efficiently. We will focus first and foremost on CA), A. Lovins (Stanford University, US), Y.L. Zhang (Xiamen University,
energy efficiency here. CN), N. Brandon (Imperial College London, GR), B.D. Jong (retired,
We need an intellectual marketplace dedicated to the nurture and Utrecht University, NL), I.S. Hwang (emeritus, Seoul National Univer­
growth of a new science of energy efficiency and innovative applica­ sity, KR), S. Hecker (retired, Stanford University, US), and H.Z. He
tions. Energy Efficiency First is aspiring and striving to become that (Jimei University, CN); Drs. B. Motherway (IEA), P. Tharakan (ADB), J.
primary platform for researchers and practitioners across diverse fields Browne (retired, Los Alamos National Laboratory, US); F.Q. An (IEA), J.
and disciplines from around the world. F. Li (retired, National Center of Climate Change Strategy and Interna­
This is only a prologue of the great adventures to come. We openly tional Cooperation, CN), R. Fujii (IEEE), G. Swift (retired, Los Alamos
and whole-heartedly invite all interested participants and stakeholders National Laboratory), and many others on the concept of EEF, and
to join us to write and submit full-length articles, reviews, rapid com­ received specific comments from some and generous support from all.
munications and case studies; use them in researches, industries and Energy Efficiency First could not have come together without our
markets; build closed loops from discovery to application to iterate and launch and operations team from Elsevier. We are particularly indebted
evolve; advance energy efficiency science and expand practices; and to the first Executive Publisher C. Moors, who came to us with the
write brand new chapters in this open book. Together, we will make concept of EEF and suggested an inspired name; and the current Exec­
Energy Efficiency First a leading scientific journal of the highest quality utive Publisher H. Habernickel, who helped us work toward the launch
with lasting impact. with patience and persistence.
We have put in this editorial some open questions and wild specu­
Acknowledgement lations to stimulate imaginations and promote discourses. If there are
errors or biases, we are solely responsible.
We are very grateful for the kind encouragement and strong support
from our inaugural Advisors and Editors. They have agreed to join us in
launching and running this new journal, and provided valuable feed­ References
backs and assistance to this editorial and the initiative. They include
Academicians Z.Q. Tian (Xiamen University, CN) and C.C. Chan (Uni­ [1] IEA, The future of hydrogen. www.linkedin.com/in/ning-li-2a637722, 2019.
[2] IEA, Energy Efficiency 2022, IEA, Paris, 2022. https://www.iea.org/reports/ener
versity of Hong Kong, CN); Fellows J.Y. Yan (Royal Institute of Tech­ gy-efficiency-2022.
nology, SE, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, CN) and N. Shar
(Imperial College London, GR); Professors T.G. Rawski (emeritus, Uni­ N. Li, Editor-in-Chief*
versity of Pittsburgh, US), H. Sekimoto (emeritus, Tokyo Institute of College of Energy, Xiamen University, China
Technology, JP), Y.L. Ding (University of Birmingham, GR), Y.P. Yang
(North China Electric Power University, CN), B.Q. Lin (Xiamen Uni­ Y.R. Zhao, Associate Editor
versity, CN), J.J. Xue (Nagoya University, JP), M. Kraft (University of College of Energy, Xiamen University, China
Cambridge, GR), R.Z. Wang (Shanghai Jiaotong University, CN), R.
*
Madlener (RWTH Aachen University, DE), F.Q. You (Cornell University, Corresponding author.