The 1st International Online Conference on Designs
The 1st International Online Conference on Designs
Energy Systems and Artificial Intelligence
Part of the International Online Conference on Designs series
Event's Timezone: Central European Time
10 October 2025
10 November 2025
3 February 2026
Artificial Intelligence, Renewable Energy, Smart Grids, Energy Storage, Energy Efficiency, Energy Forecasting and Security, Digital Design
Announcement: The Designs 2026 is Now OPEN for Abstract Submission and Registration!
Submit your abstracts here!
Register now to join us!
For any inquiries, please contact us at designs2026@mdpi.com.
Welcome from the Chair
It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the 1st International Online Conference on Designs - Energy Systems and Artificial Intelligence (Designs 2026). The conference is organized by the MDPI open access journal Designs (ISSN: 2411-9660) and will be held online from 9 to 10 February 2026.
This conference represents a unique opportunity for scientists around the world to share their latest research, communicate with each other, address problems, and suggest alternative options for creating a better future. In addition to the vibrant and collaborative atmosphere of virtual international conferences, another benefit is that you do not need to travel to attend. You can take advantage of this opportunity from wherever you live.
This conference provides an excellent platform for researchers to present their latest findings, engage in direct discussions, and participate in online Q&A sessions. The main topics and sessions of the conference are as follows:
1. Artificial Intelligence for Renewable Energy Systems and Optimization.
2. Smart Grids and AI-Enabled Energy Management Systems.
3. Intelligent Design and Control of Energy Storage Systems and Demand Response.
4. AI-Enhanced Design Strategies for Energy Efficiency in Built and Urban Environments.
5. Data-Driven Design for Energy Forecasting, Security, and Resilience.
6. Digital Design Technologies for Energy Equipment and Systems.
The conference will be an online-only event, with a free registration fee. All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee before being published and displayed on the conference website.
We are pleased to announce that our conference will recognize outstanding contributions and provide four awards including Best Oral Presentation Awards and Best Poster Awards. Authors who wish to present a poster are invited to upload it to the conference website. All accepted posters will be permanently displayed online in the Poster Gallery and may also be selected for the Best Poster Awards.
Lastly, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your unwavering support and participation. We look forward to a successful and inspiring conference!
Kind regards,
Conference Chair
Prof. Dr. Wenbin Yu
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Event Chairs
Prof. Dr. Wenbin Yu is a Professor at the School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, China. Before this, he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at National University of Singapore for 7 years. He mainly focuses on new energy vehicles and agricultural machineries, Digital twin and virtual testing technology for advanced power systems, Low/Zero-carbon fuels and Non-equilibrium plasma combustion technology, etc. He is now the Associate Editor of SAE International Journal of Engines, the Handling Editor of SAE Technical Paper, Chief Editor of Designs Section: Mechanical Engineering Design and Editorial Board Member of Energies.
Session Chairs
Dr. Yichen Zong
CARES, Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education in Singapore, Singapore; 3Y Energy Pte Ltd, Singapore
Dr. Yichen Zong serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Advanced Research and Education (CARES), leading innovations in sustainable fuel development and combustion technology, covering biofuel, methanol, ammonia and hydrogen. With a Ph.D. in Energy and Power Engineering from Tsinghua University, he has over a decade of expertise in energy research and development. Dr. Yichen Zong is also the Co-Founder of 3Y Energy Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based start-up pioneering sustainable fuel solutions.
Sustainable fuel, Combustion, Decarbonization
Prof. Dr. Elena Lucchi
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
Researcher in building physics, Architect with a PhD in building physics from the Politecnico di Milano, complemented by a post-Master's degree in environmental education from the Università Cattolica. Her research addresses the connections between energy, environment, and architecture, with a focus on energy efficiency, climate mitigation strategies, and integration of renewable energies in historic buildings and protected landscapes.
renewable energies; energy efficiency; energy audit; energy simulation; built environment; cultural heritage
Event Committee
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (DIEE), CNIT Research Unit, University of Cagliari, Cagliari 09123, Italy
Daniele D. Giusto is full professor of telecommunications at the University of Cagliari, Italy, since 2002. He received his Laurea (M.S.) degree in electronic engineering and his Dottorato di Ricerca (Ph.D.) degree in telecommunications from the University of Genoa, Italy, in 1986 and 1990, respectively. Since 1994, he has been a permanent faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari. Dr. Giusto is senior member of IEEE and was a member of IEEE Standard committee (2007-2010). He is the recipient of an IEEE Chester Sall paper award (1998) and of the AEI Ottavio Bonazzi best paper award (1993). He was the Italian Head of Delegation in the ISO-JPEG committee from 1999 to 2018, and was the Italian Head of Delegation in the ISO-Smart Cities committee since its foundation (2016) to 2022. His research interests are in the area of smart cities, sensor networks and IoT, mobile and professional networks, digital media.
communication systems; sensor networks and IoT; smart cities and smart living; digital media
Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Napoli Federico II, Napoli 80125, Italy
Adolfo Dannier, born in Naples in 1976, is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Naples Federico II. After earning his Master’s degree in 2003, he completed a PhD in 2008 at the same university, focusing on fault-tolerant structures for multilevel converters—an area that laid the groundwork for his academic career. Since 2020, he has been teaching and conducting research in Power Converters, Electrical Machines, and Drives. Known for his clear and rigorous teaching style, he lectures on courses such as Modeling of Electrical Machines and Converters, Power Electronic Converters, and Dynamics of Electromechanical Systems. His research combines innovation with practical impact. His main interests include high-performance drive systems with permanent magnet motors, advanced power conversion technologies, energy storage systems for electric vehicles, and the integration of renewable energy sources into electrical grids. Prof. Dannier has contributed to numerous national and international research projects and has authored a wide range of scientific publications. His work stands out for its focus on sustainable, intelligent, and efficient electrical systems, bridging the gap between academic research and real-world applications.
high-performance dynamic drives with PM motors; power electronic converters; fault tolerance in multilevel converters; power electronic transformers (PETs); energy storage for the integration of renewable energy sources and recharge stations for electric
Department of Astronautics, Electric and Energy Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00185, Italy
Tommaso Bragatto received M.Sc and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from “Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy, in 2015 and 2020, respectively. He worked as a member of the R&D unit of the multi-utility company ASM Terni S.p.A. from 2017 to 2021 and he participated in several Horizon 2020 projects contributing also as pilot responsible or Work Package leader. He is currently a researcher at Sapienza University of Rome and his research interests are smart distribution grids, network resilience, smart metering and electrical vehicles. He is lecturer of Smart Grids in Master Degree of Electrical and Energy Engineering. He co-authored more than 50 scientific publications.
smart grids; distribution network planning and operation; demand response; storage; electric mobility; smart metering
Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi"—DEI, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, Bologna, Italy
RICCARDO MANDRIOLI (Senior Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc. degree (cum laude) in Electrical Engineering in Oct. 2019, and the Ph.D. degree (Hons.) in Biomedical, Electrical, and Systems Engineering in Mar. 2023, from the University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Currently, he is a Tenure Track Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering, University of Bologna. From Nov. 2022 to Jan. 2024, he has been a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor, and he has also been involved as a Teaching Assistant for multiple engineering courses since 2017. In 2022, he was a Visiting Scientist with the Chair of Power Electronics, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany. In Nov. 2023, he received the National Scientific Habilitation for the permanent position of Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering. His research interests include electric vehicle chargers, photovoltaic, power electronic converters, harmonic pollution, efficiency improvement, and circuit modeling. Dr. Mandrioli was the winner of the IEEE IES – Italy Section Chapter 2024 PhD Thesis Award and the MDPI Electronics 2023 Best PhD Thesis Award. He was the recipient of the IEEE ENERGYCON 2020 Best Paper Award and the IEEE ICDCM 2025 Best Reviewer Award. He is an Associate Editor for IEEE Access and an Editorial Board Member for the Electricity, Designs, and Discover Electronics.
power electronics; power converters; electric vehicles; renewables; pulse-width-modulation; harmonic pollution
Invited Speakers
Department of Railroad and Electrical Engineering, Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Republic of Korea
Sustainable Development with Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicle Technologies
Surender Reddy Salkuti has been working with Woosong University, Daejeon, Republic of Korea as an Associate Professor in the Department of Railroad and Electrical Engineering since April 2014. He received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), New Delhi, India, in 2013. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Howard University, Washington, DC, USA, from 2013 to 2014. His research interests include power system restructuring issues, smart grid development with the integration of wind and solar photovoltaic energy sources, battery storage, and electric vehicles, demand response, power system analysis and optimization, artificial intelligence and soft computing techniques application in power systems, and renewable energy.
Market clearing including renewable energy sources; demand response; smart grid development with integration of wind and solar PV energy sources; electric vehicles; artificial intelligence applications in power systems; power system analysis and optimizat
Institute of the Building Environment & Sustainability Technology, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Design and optimization on novel heat storage tank for building heating
thermal energy storage; solar thermal application; PVT system; building energy storage
Sessions
S2. Smart Grids and AI-Enabled Energy Management Systems
S3. Intelligent Design and Control of Energy Storage Systems and Demand Response
S4. AI-Enhanced Design Strategies for Energy Efficiency in Built and Urban Environments
S5. Data-Driven Design for Energy Forecasting, Security, and Resilience
S6. Digital Design Technologies for Energy Equipment and Systems
Registration
The registration for Designs 2026 will be free of charge! The registration includes attendance to all conference sessions.
If you are registering several people under the same registration, please do not use the same email address for each person, but their individual university email addresses. Thank you for your understanding.
Please note that the submission and registration are two separate parts. Only scholars who registered can receive a link to access the conference live streaming. The deadline for registration is 3 February 2026.
Instructions for Authors
The 1st International Online Conference on Designs - Energy Systems and Artificial Intelligence will accept abstracts only.
The accepted abstracts will be available on the Designs 2026 conference official website during and after the conference.
2. Abstract acceptance notification: 10 November 2025.
2. All abstracts should be submitted and presented in clear, publication-ready English with accurate grammar and spelling.
3. The same author can submit a maximum of 2 abstracts. However, only one abstract will be selected for oral presentation.
4. The abstracts submitted to this conference must be original and novel, without prior publication in any journals or it will not be accepted to this conference.
1. The submitting author must ensure that all co-authors are aware of the contents of the abstract.
2. Please ensure that all co-author information is thoroughly completed when submitting your abstract to prevent any omissions.
3. The requirements for full affiliation include:
(1) Department/School/Faculty/Campus;
(2) University/Company/Institute;
(3) City;
(4) Post/ZIP code or equivalent, where available;
(5) Country.
4. Please select only one presenter for each submission. If you would like to change the presenter after submission, please email us accordingly.
Note: We only accept live presentations.
- Size in pixel: 1080 width x 1536 height–portrait orientation.
- Size in cm: 38,1 width x 54,2 height–portrait orientation.
- Font size: ≥16.
- Examples of successful submissions can be viewed here at the following links: (1), (2), (3).
- You can use our free template to create your poster.
It is the author's responsibility to identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that may be perceived as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of clinical research. If there is no conflict, please state "The authors declare no conflicts of interest." This should be conveyed in a separate "Conflict of Interest" statement preceding the "Acknowledgments" and "References" sections at the end of the manuscript. Any financial support for the study must be fully disclosed in the "Acknowledgments" section.
MDPI, the publisher of the Sciforum.net platform, is an open access publisher. We believe authors should retain the copyright to their scholarly works. Hence, by submitting an abstract to this conference, you retain the copyright to the work, but you grant MDPI the non-exclusive right to publish this abstract online on the Sciforum.net platform. This means you can easily submit your full paper (with the abstract) to any scientific journal at a later stage and transfer the copyright to its publisher if required.
Publication Opportunities
Authors are asked to disclose that it is a proceeding paper of the Designs 2026 conference paper in their cover letter. Carefully read the rules outlined in the 'Instructions for Authors' on the journal’s website and ensure that your submission adheres to these guidelines.
Manuscripts for the proceedings issue must be formatted as follows:
Title
Full author names
Affiliations (including full postal address) and authors' e-mail addresses
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Methods
Results and Discussion
Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References.
Event Awards
The Awards
Number of Awards Available: 4
The Best Poster Awards are given to the submission judged to make the most significant and interesting poster for the conference.
Sponsors and Partners
For information regarding sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, please click here.
Organizers
Media Partners
