Program Highlight:

HKUST is a leading international center for energy research with a reputation for excellence across a broad range of technologies encompassing the four research areas, i.e. energy generation, energy storage & distribution, energy efficiency and energy policy. Below are some of the research highlights under the four areas: 

•      Energy Generation i.e. Solar cells, Bio-Energy

•      Energy Storage & Distribution i.e. Fuel Cells, Battery

•      Energy Efficiency

•      Energy Policy

Our visit will mainly focus on the latest research on Energy Conversion and Storage technologies and the Energy Institute of HKUST.

Language:

English presentation and guided tour

Speaker

Prof. Minhua SHAO,

Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Associate Director of HKUST Energy Institute

Registration

The visit is free of charge with maximum participants of 30.  For registration, please complete the online in Associate Member Committee website (http://amc.hkie.org.hk).  Successful applicants will be notified 5 days before the visit.  For enquiries, please contact Mr. Indi WONG by Email: indiwfwong@yahoo.com.hk or Tel: 5402-3466. Attendance certificate will be awarded after the visit.

By Mr. Ricky Lo

A visit to HKUST was organized by AMC on 8 Dec 2018 with over 20 participants. It was hosted by Prof. Shao Minhua, an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and the Associate Director of the HKUST Energy Institute.

The visit started with an introduction of renewable energy. At present the fossil fuels are our main power source, and after these energy sources are consumed, they could not be replenished. Therefore, developing and implementing technologies that can efficiently harness renewable energy sources is of utmost importance to our future wellbeing. Furthermore, renewable energy generates less pollution and helps to protect the environment. Although solar power only accounted for less than 3% of the total worldwide electricity production in 2017, it is the fastest-growing energy source and it is estimated that it will become the world’s largest electricity source by 2060. Hence the HKUST Energy Institute is studying the use of nanotechnology to drastically improve the efficiency of solar cells and lowering its production cost.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The laboratory tour started with the fuel cell technology and demonstrations of the hydrogen fuel cell prototypes and the fabrication of proton exchange membranes. The hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical power generator that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as by-products. It is therefore a clean and reliable alternative energy source and there is no energy capacity limitations. It is finding a growing number of applications such as specialty vehicles, emergency backup power and prime power to critical loads.

We then visited their energy storage technology laboratory and looked at the electrically rechargeable liquid fuels. These portable fuels are efficient, site independent, safe and can be used to store energy from intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar energy.