What is a Sankey diagram and when should I use one?

A Sankey diagram is a directional flow chart in which band widths are proportional to flow quantities — showing where energy, mass, or material goes through a system. Use a Sankey diagram when you need to visualize efficiency, losses, or the distribution of a resource across multiple pathways, such as in energy audits, supply chain analysis, or metabolic flux studies.

How do I make a Sankey diagram for energy flow?

Describe your energy sources (e.g., fuel input, solar, grid), conversion steps, useful output, and losses with their magnitudes, and SciFig's Sankey diagram generator builds the proportional flow diagram automatically. The tool assigns band widths based on your values, labels each node, and produces a publication-ready energy flow Sankey diagram you can refine and export.

How do I set up nodes and flow values in the Sankey diagram generator?

List your source nodes, intermediate process nodes, and sink nodes, then specify the flow magnitude between each pair. SciFig's Sankey diagram generator maps these into a proportional diagram — wider bands for larger flows, narrower bands for smaller ones. You can also describe the system in plain language and let the tool extract the node-flow structure for you.

Can I use this Sankey chart maker for a student engineering project?

Yes. SciFig's Sankey diagram generator is well suited for engineering coursework, student theses, and academic projects. Describe your energy or material system — even a simple heat engine or a campus waste-stream analysis — and generate a clean Sankey diagram that meets the visual standards expected in engineering reports and presentations.

How do I export a Sankey diagram for a paper or report?

Once your Sankey diagram is ready, export it as a high-resolution image in the format required by your journal or institution. SciFig produces crisp, publication-quality Sankey charts that meet the figure specifications for most engineering and scientific journals, conference proceedings, and institutional reports.

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Sankey Diagram Generator

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Sankey Diagram Generator— templates & examples

Everything you need to build your Sankey diagram

Generate a Sankey diagram from flow descriptions or values

List your sources, processes, sinks, and flow magnitudes — or describe the system in plain language — and SciFig's Sankey diagram generator produces a proportional flow chart instantly. Band widths scale automatically to your values, nodes are labeled, and the layout is optimized so the Sankey diagram is readable at a glance.

Built for material flow analysis and energy audits

SciFig's online Sankey MFA maker handles the structured flow data that material flow analysis and energy balance studies require. Assign units (tonnes, GJ, kg, kWh), color-code streams by material category or energy type, and export a Sankey diagram that meets publication standards for industrial ecology, environmental engineering, and energy research journals.

Edit flows, nodes, and colors after generation

Every Sankey diagram from SciFig is fully editable. Adjust individual flow widths, rename node labels, split or merge streams, and recolor bands to distinguish input types, losses, and recycled flows. When the Sankey chart matches your data, export it ready for your paper, thesis, or engineering report.

What is a Sankey diagram?

A Sankey diagram is a flow diagram in which band widths are proportional to the quantities they represent, making losses, conversions, and distributions immediately visible across energy systems and material streams. Sankey diagrams are the standard for material flow analysis, energy audits, and industrial ecology. With SciFig's Sankey diagram generator you describe your sources, processes, and sinks with flow magnitudes and receive a labeled, proportional chart for papers or reports.

Why Sankey diagrams are the standard for flow visualization

Proportional band widths make losses and efficiencies immediately visible without a legend
Standard figure format required in material flow analysis and energy audit publications
Handles multi-input, multi-output systems that line charts and bar charts cannot represent
Communicates complex process chains to non-specialist readers and decision-makers
Supports traceability — every unit of material or energy is accounted for across the diagram
Accepted by leading engineering and environmental science journals as a primary figure type

Key components of a Sankey diagram

Source nodes — entry points where energy or material enters the system
Process nodes — intermediate steps where conversion, transformation, or redistribution occurs
Sink nodes — exit points representing useful output, waste, emissions, or storage
Flow bands — arrows or ribbons whose width is proportional to flow magnitude
Flow labels — numerical annotations showing quantities and units on each band
Loss flows — typically downward-pointing bands indicating waste heat, emissions, or rejected material

Where Sankey diagrams are used in science and engineering

Energy system analysis: national energy balance, building energy audits, power plant efficiency
Material flow analysis: metal cycles, plastic waste streams, urban metabolism studies
Industrial ecology: life cycle inventory visualization, supply chain material tracking
Chemical engineering: process mass balance and heat integration diagrams
Environmental engineering: greenhouse gas emission attribution across sectors
Mechanical and aerospace engineering: thermodynamic cycle and propulsion efficiency diagrams

How to make a Sankey diagram

Describe your Sankey diagram

Tell SciFig what to draw in plain language — no design tools required.

Generate with SciFig

Get a clean, publication-ready figure that matches your description in seconds.

Edit & export

Vectorize it into editable SVG, relabel everything, and export for your paper, poster, or slides.

Sankey Diagram Generator — Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Sankey Diagram Generator.

Material flow analysis (MFA) tracks how materials — metals, plastics, nutrients, waste — move through an industrial, urban, or ecological system over a defined period. A Sankey diagram is the standard way to visualize MFA results: each flow band shows the quantity of material moving between stocks and processes, making gains, losses, and recycling loops immediately readable. SciFig's online Sankey MFA maker generates these diagrams from your flow data directly.

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