Integrating Renewable Energy Systems with Circular Carbon Technologies for Sustainable Energy Transitions: An Overview
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The transition toward sustainable energy systems requires integrated approaches that simultaneously address energy security, climate change mitigation, and resource efficiency. Integrating renewable energy systems with circular carbon technologies offers a promising pathway to achieve deep decarbonization while maintaining system flexibility and economic viability. This approach combines renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower with technologies that capture, utilize, store, and recycle carbon, including carbon capture and utilization (CCU), carbon capture and storage (CCS), bioenergy with carbon capture, and synthetic fuel production. By closing carbon loops, circular carbon technologies enable the reuse of captured carbon as a valuable resource for fuels, chemicals, and materials, reducing net emissions and dependence on fossil carbon. Renewable energy plays a critical role in powering carbon capture processes and converting captured CO₂ into low-carbon products through electrochemical, thermochemical, and biological pathways. This integration enhances system resilience, supports sector coupling across power, transport, and industry, and facilitates the transition to net-zero and net-negative emission energy systems. However, challenges related to technological maturity, infrastructure development, policy frameworks, and economic scalability remain significant. This abstract highlights the synergies, opportunities, and key barriers associated with integrating renewable energy systems with circular carbon technologies and underscores their strategic importance in enabling sustainable and inclusive energy transitions.
Language: English
Subfield: Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7170150030