Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: COMPEL: The International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Volume 34, Issue 6.

The 2014 Ninth International Conference on Ecological Vehicles and Renewable Energies (EVER2014) was hosted by the principality of Monaco, in the Grimaldi Forum, March 25-27, 2014. Located between the Mediterranean, France, and Italy, Monaco is one of the smallest countries in the world, but is without doubt the “largest one” by its commitment toward the sustainable development with an emphasis on mobility and energy. EVER2014 was organized by the Monaco Sustainable Development Association (MC2D) and was technically cosponsored by three IEEE societies: the IEEE Industry Applications Society; the IEEE Power Electronics Society;and the IEEE Magnetics Society.

EVER2014 was a forum for specialists coming from both universities and industries, who are involved in research and development projects in the areas of ecological vehicles or renewable energies. Attendees had the opportunity to share their scientific,technical, business, and social experiences with other participants from 35 countries. The conference received up to 205 extended abstracts. The final program included 139 presentations, yielding a final acceptance rate of 68 percent. I would like to thank my colleagues and the members of the Program Committee who were involved in the conference organization. They did their best in selecting and improving the scientific level of the accepted presentations.

The final program of EVER2014 included three plenary presentations. The first plenary presentation, delivered by Dr Grzegorz Ombach (Qualcomm Incorporated, USA) addressed wireless charging systems dedicated to automotive applications. The second plenary presentation was entitled “Power Electronics – The Key Technology for Renewable Energy Systems” by Professor Frede Blaabjerg,from Aalborg University, Denmark. The third plenary presentation was delivered by Professor Zi Q. Zhu from the University of Sheffield, UK, and covered aspects of stator-excited synchronous machines as a key technology for automotive actuators. The final EVER2014 program also included eight sessions on ecological vehicles, nine sessions on renewable energies, and six sessions on topics shared by both ecological vehicles and renewable energies. Among these 23 sessions, four are highlighted:

1. Special Session on Offshore Renewable Energy: Technologies and Applications, co-organized by Dr Elisabetta Tedesci from the Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology, Norway, and Dr Anne Blavette from the University of Nantes, France;

2. Special Session on Renewable Energy Systems: Models, Components and Techniques, organized by Professor Rosario Miceli from the University of Palermo, Italy;

3. Special Session on the Integration of Doubly-Fed Induction Machines in Sustainable Applications, organized by Professor Constantinos Sourkounis from Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; and

4. Special Session on Range Extender Systems for Electric Vehicles, organized by Dr Frank Rinderknecht from the Institute of Vehicle Concepts, Germany.

This special issue of the International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (COMPEL) includes extended and improved versions of selected papers presented at EVER2014.

I would like to congratulate his Excellency Bernard Fautrier, Plenipotentiary Minister of Monaco, and General Chairman of EVER2014, for his support and his valuable recommendations to ensure the success of EVER2014.

I would like to express my truthful acknowledgments to Professor Jan K. Sykulski, the Editor in Chief of COMPEL, and to the staff of the Emerald Group Publishing Limited especially to Mrs Kay Wilkinson, Ms Andrea Watson-Lee, and Ms Abi Masha for their inestimable cooperation.

Finally, I should say that EVER2014 was a great success thanks to the efforts of all the members of the Organizing Committee,especially its Chairman Mrs Ariane Favaloro, to whom I would like to express my sincere gratitude and my deep respect.

Dr Ahmed Masmoudi, Research Laboratory on Renewable Energies and Electric Vehicles, University of Sfax, Sfax Engineering School, Sfax, Tunisia