Events 2017

RGC Visits the TRS Project “Smart Solar Energy Harvesting, Storage, and Utilization” of the Engineering Faculty

A 3-member delegation consisted of Prof. Paul Yu (Provost of the Revelle College, University of California, San Diego, USA), Prof. Edward Yeung (Distinguished Professor Emeritus in Liberal Arts and Sciences of Iowa State University of Science and Technology, USA) and Dr Cheung Nim-kwan (Former Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI)) representing the Research Grant Council (RGC) visited the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) project “Smart Solar Energy Harvesting, Storage, and Utilization” led by the Dean of Engineering, Prof. Ching-ping Wong on October 24, 2017. Other project team representatives included:

  • The sub-project leaders
    • Prof. Jianbin Xu, Department of Electronic Engineering
    • Prof. Xudong Xiao, Department of Physics
    • Prof. Jimmy Yu, Department of Chemistry
    • Prof. Minghua Chen, Department of Information Engineering and
    • Prof. Zhao Xu, Department of Electrical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • Seven co-investigators
    • Profs Ni Zhao and Keyou Yan, Department of Electronic Engineering,
    • Prof. Yi-Chun Lu, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering,
    • Prof. Kehuan Zhang, Department of Information Engineering,
    • Profs. Jianfang Wang and Xinhui Lu, Department of Physics, and
    • Dr Youwei Jia, Department of Electrical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • More than 20 graduate students and research staff

The project team consisted of six sub-teams, presented the research achievements to the visit team with a dozens of presentation sessions, more than 20 posters and 6 demonstrations. In addition, the team also visited the solar microgrids system at the student Hostel Rooftop at Lee Woo Sing College of CUHK. Various results from the project “Smart Solar Energy Harvesting, Storage, and Utilization” achieved remarkable world records, putting Hong Kong on the map. They include world record efficiency energy harvesting and storage technologies, development of new materials, highly efficient online energy generation scheduling for microgrids, the first-ever smart energy management online system “Woo Sing Power” in CUHK, as well as the first smart microgrid laboratory in Hong Kong (See Annex).  

Commenced in 2014, the project was awarded HK$ 60.33 from the RGC. Since establishment, the RGC visited the project team at a biennial basis to review the progress; and the present visit is the second time. The project is expected to complete by Dec 2018. In the future they are going to further explore even more breakthroughs, with the ultimate goal of integrating diversified systems for high-performing smart microgrids.

Annex: Summary of Research Breakthroughs of “Smart Solar Energy Harvesting, Storage, and Utilization”

 

Project Milestones

Team

Patent

Harvesting

1. Developed highly crystalline large-grain size (5x5 cm2）perovskite thin film crystals. Humidity and heat stability was significantly boosted from 1 week to two months.

Jianbin Xu and Keyou Yan

  

2. Achieved single-junction organic solar cells with a record efficiency of 11.5%, which has been officially certified. This achievement is noted as a major technological breakthrough in the renowned National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (US Dept of Energy) chart of “best research-cell efficiencies”.

Henry Yan

  

3. World record for precision roll-to-roll printing system that are flexure-based and multi-layer, realizing continuous printing on 4” web with 100 nm resolution

Shih-Chi Chen

Yes

4. Record high hydrogen evolution efficiency using micro-fibrous red phosphorus to produce clean fuel (hydrogen). Red phosphorous is abundant in the earth’s crust and can be extracted fairly easily. The process of conversion leaves only water as a by-product, without any toxic gas.

Jimmy Yu

Yes

5. Invented an innovative lanthanide-sensitized oxide for capturing infrared light, reaching a maximal efficiency of 16%, which is at least double the efficiency of traditional nano-upconversion materials.

Jianfang Wang

Yes

6. Their TEG  achieved a world record power density as high as 9.2 mW cm-2 at a temperature difference of 52.5 K

Dongyan Xu

Yes

Energy Storage

7. The most efficient asymmetric supercapacitors (3D Porous Carbon Foam-based Composites) reported to date

Ching-ping Wong and Ni Zhao

  

8. The highest reported energy density for aqueous redox flow batteries (Zinc/iodine-bromide Redox Flow Battery (ZIBB)) to-date.

Yi-Chun Lu

Yes

Utilization

9. Online Energy Generation Scheduling for Microgrids: Bring about a remarkable 20% cost saving, given little or no generation/load forecast information.

Minghua Chen

  

10. Smart Microgrid Lab at HK PolyU

  • A first of its kind microgrid platform in Hong Kong dedicated for scientific experiment and practical implementation of advanced microgrids control algorithms
  • A first of its kind smart demand controller in HK enabling frequency/voltage response from various home appliances.
  • A novel optimization based probabilistic interval prognosis method for solar and other renewable energies in MG (in collaboration with Hong Kong Observatory)

Zhao Xu

Yes

11. Smart Energy Management Online System  “Woo Sing Power”: Built a smart online energy management platform ”Woo Sing Power” which provides instantaneous feedback to several hundred users in CUHK LWS College to encourage energy conservation, and to administrators to find opportunities and policies to save energy.

Dah Ming Chiu

  

 

研資局訪問工程學院「智能化太陽能技術 - 採集、存儲及應用」主題研究計劃

2017年10月24日，香港研資局三位評審代表美國加州大學聖地牙哥分校Revelle College教務長余刼離教授、美國愛荷華州立大學 Liberal Arts and Sciences傑出榮休教授楊仕成教授及香港應用科技研究院 (ASTRI) 前行政總裁張念坤博士蒞臨工程學院訪問由工程學院院長汪正平教授領導之主題研究計劃「智能化太陽能技術 - 採集、存儲及應用」。出席之團隊代表還包括：

  • 五位領導教授
    • 電子工程學系許建斌教授
    • 物理系肖旭東教授
    • 化學系余濟美教授
    • 信息工程學系陳名華教授及
    • 香港理工大學電機工程學系許昭教授
  • 七位團隊成員
    • 電子工程學系趙鈮及嚴克友教授
    • 機械與自動化工程學系盧怡君教授
    • 信息工程學系張克環教授
    • 物理系王建方及路新慧教授
    • 香港理工大學電機工程學系嘉有為博士
  • 二十多位研究生及研究人員等。

團隊由六小組組成，共向訪問團進行了十多節簡報演講以講解最新的研究發展，另有二十多張海報、六個科研成果示範，並到和聲書院頂層參觀了由團隊設計之太陽能系統示範基地。團隊在太陽能科技研究上已取得多項優秀成果，令香港在再生能源技術上領先全球，包括多項性能達全球最佳之能源採集及儲存技術、新材料之研發、微電網發電調度的高效在線算法、中文大學學生宿舍首次應用之智能化能源管理網上系統「和聲 Power」及全港首個智慧型微電網實驗室（見附表）。

項目自2014年開展，共獲研資局港幣6千33萬港元資助。自項目開始以來，研資局每兩年均蒞臨工程學院訪問一次，藉此了解團隊的研究進展，今年是訪問團第二次來訪。項目預計於2018年完成，團隊將繼續發掘更出色的研究突破，以結合各種不同系統及高效智能電網應用為最終目標。

附表：「智能化太陽能技術 - 採集、存儲及應用」研究突破摘要

 

成果及特點

研發團隊

專利

採集

1. 研發高結晶性大尺寸（5 × 5 cm2）晶粒鈣鈦礦薄膜，濕度及熱穩定性由一星期大幅延長至兩個月，向商業化生產所需要求大大邁進一步。

許建斌及嚴克友教授

  

2. 把單結有機太陽能電池 效能提升至世界最高的 11.5%，並獲美國能源部國家再生能源實驗室 (NREL) 正式確認為主要科技突破，並刊登於 國際知名的「最佳效能研究電池圖表」上。

顏河教授

  

3. 全球紀錄最高精確度之卷對卷印刷系統，準確度達 100 nm。

陳世祈教授

有

4. 研發微纖維紅磷從水中 高效製造氫氣(新潔淨能源) 。

余濟美教授

有

5. 研發一種新型的稀土敏化轉換材料，能把紅外光直接轉化為可見光，能量轉換效率達到16%，比傳統納米上轉換材料效率提升一倍以上。

王建方教授

有

6. 研發全球文獻紀錄中最高功率密度 (9.2 mW cm-2) 的熱電發電機。

徐東艷教授

有

存儲

7. 全球文獻記錄中最高效能的非對稱性超級電容器 (三維多孔碳高效能超級電容器) 。

汪正平及趙鈮教授

  

8. 研發全球水系液流電池中，最高能量密度之新型鋅-碘溴液流電池 (ZIBB) 。

盧怡君教授

有

應用

9. 微電網發電調度的在線算法：打破基於預測的傳統調度框架，在沒有或極少預測信息的情況節省約 20% 的成本，成效顯著。

陳名華教授

  

10. 理工大學微電網實驗室

  • 建成全港首個光伏發電及儲能為本智慧型微電網實驗室，是先進微網控制實驗平台，總容量達 4 kw。
  • 成功研發本港首個智慧型電氣負載控制器之理論設計及硬件製作，能應用在不同家居電器，回應電網頻率或電壓變化。
  • 團隊與香港天文台合作，開發了性能優秀的粒化概率區間預測技術，能應用於太陽能及其他可再生能源的微電網上。

許昭教授

有

11. 智能化能源管理網上系統「和聲 Power」：為數百位宿生提供實時回饋以鼓勵節能，並為管理者找出節能機會及方案，成功提升宿生對個人用電量的關注及節能意識。

邱達民教授

  

 

 

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