On December 12, Li Luming, Deputy Party Secretary and President of Tsinghua University, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, visited Imperial College London, where he conducted an inspection of the Tsinghua University-Imperial College London Joint Research Center for Intelligent Power and Energy Systems (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Research Center). During his visit, he held a seminar with members from both the Chinese and British sides of the Joint Research Center. The delegation included Kang Chongqing, Dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA), Guan Dabo, Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences, Zhao Qianchuan, Professor at the Department of Automation, Jiang Yongbin, Deputy Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Office, Sun Kai, Assistant Director of EEA, and Zhang Ning, Associate Professor at EEA.

Group Photo from the Seminar

At the seminar, Professor Goran Strbac, the British Director of the Joint Research Center, gave a detailed introduction to the center’s founding background, goals, research directions, personnel composition, collaborative achievements, and future plans. He stated that the Joint Research Center is established in the context of global low-carbon transformation of power and energy and focuses on cutting-edge areas such as power and energy system planning, operation optimization, safety and stability, resilience enhancement, and power electronics. He emphasized that the center is committed to achieving technological complementarity and collaborative progress between China and the UK, promoting the digitalization, intelligence, and decarbonization of power and energy systems. Professor Strbac expressed his gratitude to Tsinghua University for its support of the Joint Research Center and hoped that, with continued joint efforts from both universities, the cooperation level would further improve and that the center would become a world-leading research institution. Professor Tim C. Green, the incoming head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, along with Associate Professor Teng Fei, and representatives from the International Affairs Office at Imperial College London, participated in the seminar.

After hearing the relevant reports, Li Luming affirmed the fruitful results achieved by the Joint Research Center through the joint efforts of both China and the UK. He noted that carbon neutrality is a major challenge faced by the world, and the Joint Research Center aims to solve the challenges in the low-carbon transformation of the power and energy sector. It has united the scientific strengths of Tsinghua University and Imperial College London to establish a good cooperation model that integrates academic exchanges, research cooperation, think tank consulting, and talent cultivation. This model has truly realized mutual benefits, and their collaboration will undoubtedly drive innovation in the power and energy sector, providing important support for the carbon neutrality process in both China and the UK, as well as globally. Li Luming emphasized that Tsinghua University will continue to support the construction and development of the Joint Research Center, and he hopes both sides will deepen cooperation, produce more high-level innovative results, strengthen the application of scientific achievements, and make greater contributions to advancing the high-quality development of power and energy in both countries while cultivating more young talent at the forefront of the field.

Professor Tim Green Introduces the Laboratory to Li Luming (left) | Li Luming Takes a Photo with Tsinghua Students Studying at Imperial College London (right)

After the seminar, Li Luming, accompanied by Professor Tim Green and Associate Professor Teng Fei from Imperial College London, visited the Future Energy Laboratory. There, he learned about the technical achievements and applications that have resulted from the collaboration since the founding of the Joint Research Center. He also met with and offered his warm regards to Tsinghua University postdoctoral researcher Zhang Jiamei, PhD student Jia Hongyang, undergraduate students Li Yunhe and Lin Guoxin, who are conducting collaborative research and exchange studies at Imperial College London.

On December 13, the Joint Research Center held the 2nd Carbon Neutrality and Energy Intelligence Connectivity Academic Seminar at Imperial College London, with over 40 representatives from both the Chinese and British sides of the Joint Research Center, as well as renowned universities and enterprises in the UK’s power and energy sector. Professors Kang Chongqing and Tim Green respectively delivered opening speeches on behalf of the Chinese and British sides. In his speech, Professor Tim Green warmly welcomed the visit of the Tsinghua University delegation, noting that the Joint Research Center has conducted several mutual visits and exchanges since its establishment in March 2019, achieving many important results in scientific research, international project cooperation, and talent development. This has demonstrated that the close cooperation between the two teams can contribute significantly to the power and energy development in both countries and globally. Professor Kang Chongqing thanked Imperial College London for its warm reception and expressed that although international scientific and technological cooperation faces many challenges, China and the UK have built sincere mutual trust, overcoming many obstacles to achieve fruitful cooperation results. The Joint Research Center has become a model for EEA’s international scientific cooperation. He hopes that, with the support of the Joint Research Center platform, both universities will unite with more academic institutions, research organizations, and corporate partners in the power and energy sector, expanding the breadth and depth of cooperation and making major original contributions. This will help cultivate the next generation of talent and steadily advance toward innovation in the power and energy sector.

Professor Tim Green’s Speech (left) | Professor Kang Chongqing’s Speech (right)

Afterward, Associate Professor Teng Fei from Imperial College London chaired the invited report session, during which scholars from Tsinghua University, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Bath, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, Newcastle University, University of Birmingham, Cardiff University, Brunel University, and the European Research Institute of the State Grid Corporation of China gave 14 outstanding academic reports on the topic of carbon neutrality in power and energy systems. Finally, Professor Tim Green, Professor Kang Chongqing, Professor Li Furong, and Dr. Tian Zhongbei discussed the future scientific cooperation between China and the UK.

Invited Report Session

Roundtable Discussion

This seminar was supported by the "Carbon Neutrality and Energy Intelligence Connectivity" international big science plan led by Tsinghua University and the "iEnergy" journal, which was hosted by Tsinghua University and academically supported by the EEA. At the event, Professor Kang Chongqing, on behalf of the journal, presented Professor Goran Strbac with a vice-editor appointment letter.

Professor Kang Chongqing Presents a Vice-Editor Appointment Letter to Professor Goran Strbac

The Tsinghua University-Imperial College London Joint Research Center for Intelligent Power and Energy Systems was established in March 2019. In December 2022, the second-phase cooperation agreement was signed. The center conducts collaborative research in multiple areas, including new power system planning, integrated energy systems, low-carbon energy transition, the safety and stability of power electronics-based power systems, and power electronics equipment. The center has undertaken two international cooperation projects and published more than 20 collaborative papers. Leveraging this center, a new international cooperation laboratory for the innovation of new power systems was approved by the Ministry of Education in 2023. The Joint Research Center has trained more than 50 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, several of whom are now teaching at Peking University, Zhejiang University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Southeast University, or serving as young experts at enterprises such as the State Grid Corporation of China.