Title: Exergoenvironmental decision-making for urban energy systems

Authors: Xuecong Zhou; Rasool Bux Khoso

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Baoding, China ' Department of Earth Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, 10125, Italy

Abstract: The transition to sustainable urban energy systems is essential for addressing climate challenges and resource constraints. This study presents a novel exergoenvironmental decision-making framework integrating advanced multi-criteria methodologies, including fuzzy cognitive maps, grey systems decision-making, and dynamic weighting algorithms. The framework evaluates urban energy configurations across technical, environmental, economic, and social dimensions, emphasising exergy efficiency and carbon emissions. Findings highlight the superiority of hydrogen-based energy systems and renewable integration in optimising efficiency and reducing emissions. The methodology ensures adaptability to evolving sustainability priorities, offering actionable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders while advancing sustainable urban energy transitions on global scale.

Keywords: exergoenvironmental optimisation; urban energy systems; multi-criteria decision-making; MCDM; renewable energy integration; hydrogen-based energy; sustainable urban development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2025.149607

International Journal of Exergy, 2025 Vol.48 No.2, pp.144 - 160

Received: 03 Jan 2025
Accepted: 21 Feb 2025
Published online: 07 Nov 2025 *

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