Total numbers matter. Landscape of China’s scientific publications in 2018-2020 on the energy issue

Abstract

This study aims to reveal and analyze the landscape of China’s scientific publications in 2018–2020 on the subject “Energy Engineering and Power Technology” using bibliometric data from the Lens platform. Bibliometric data of 26,623 scholarly works that satisfy the query: “Filters: Year Published = (2018–); Publication Type = (journal article); Subject = (Energy Engineering and Power Technology); Institution Country/Region = (China)” were used to analyze their main topics disclosed by Fields of Study and Subject; the leading contributors to these R&D activities were also detected. Chinese Academy of Sciences, China University of Petroleum, Tsinghua University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China University of Mining and Technology are the leading institutions in the subject. Most research works were funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China. China carries out its research not only in conjunction with the leading economies: United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, but also with the developing countries: Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Viet Nam. Materials science, Chemical engineering, Computer science, Chemistry, Catalysis, Environmental science are the top Fields of Study. Analysis of co-occurrence of Fields of Study allowed to identify 5 thematic clusters: 1. Thermal efficiency and environmental science; 2. Materials science for energy storage and hydrogen production; 3. Catalysis and pyrolysis for better fossil fuels; 4. Computer science and control theory for renewable energy; 5. Petroleum engineering for new fossil fuel resources and composite materials. The results of the work can serve as a reference material for scientists, developers and investors, so that they can understand the research landscape of the “Energy Engineering and Power Technology” subject.