29 Aug 2024
Towngas Energy Academy marks its 2nd anniversary with five research breakthroughs
(29 August 2024) The Towngas Energy Academy (TEA) announced yesterday that its perovskite solar cells, viewed as a key innovation in the renewable energy industry, have entered the pre-production trial and industrialisation phase. In just two years since its establishment, TEA has accumulated 25 authorised intellectual property rights. The Academy has also unveiled five research achievements covering clean energy areas such as photovoltaics, energy storage, and hydrogen energy, with a public release scheduled in just over a week.
The pre-production trial and transformation project for perovskite solar cells was jointly developed by TEA and Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue’s team from City University of Hong Kong. After less than a year of effort, TEA announced yesterday (28 August) at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone that the project has entered the pre-production trial and industrialisation phase.
Additionally, TEA previewed several innovative technology products that will debut at the International Digital Energy Expo 2024 in Shenzhen from 8-11 September. The products focus on clean energy areas such as photovoltaics, energy storage, and hydrogen energy. These include a photovoltaic smart circuit breaker, energy router, MEMS hydrogen sensor, aqueous zinc-ion battery, and energy storage management system. Each offers innovative advantages in high-voltage DC interruption, smart energy management, hydrogen monitoring, safe energy storage, and optimised storage efficiency. These technological achievements have been applied in various scenarios within the Towngas Group and are about to be industrialised.
Concurrently, TEA’s Bay Area Smart Energy Exhibition Hall was officially opened. The Hall showcases highlights of clean energy technology transformation in the Greater Bay Area, becoming a platform for the thriving Shenzhen-Hong Kong technology innovation cooperation.
TEA was jointly established by The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) and Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited on 29 August 2022, becoming Shenzhen’s first clean energy application research institution established by a Hong Kong-funded enterprise. Over the past two years, TEA has focused on applied technology research and development, as well as scientific and technological achievement conversion in the clean energy field. Leveraging Towngas’ over 160 years of experience in energy supply, along with its rich application scenarios and various advantageous resources, TEA currently holds 25 authorised intellectual property rights. The core R&D team comprises nearly 40 people, with 80% holding master’s or doctoral degrees.
Mr Peter Wong Wai-yee, Managing Director of Towngas, expressed his delight about TEA’s research projects nearing implementation, “We will continue to uphold our vision of ‘creating a sustainable world driven by green energy’, persisting in leading green development through technological innovation, supporting the transformation of the Group’s diverse businesses, deepening industry-academia-research cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and contributing to the realisation of dual carbon goals and the promotion of global clean energy development.”
Mr Yu Jie, Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Park Development Authority of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, congratulated and recognised TEA’s achievements in just two years. “We hope that TEA will participate in more major scientific research projects in the future and achieve pilot transformation from R&D to engineering in the Loop area, making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the clean energy industry.”
Dr John Qiu Jian-hang, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer – Renewable Business of Towngas Smart Energy, said, “TEA will continue to grow and develop in the Loop area, helping to advance technological innovation and industrialisation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, continuously carrying out industry-academia-research cooperation, accelerating the implementation of R&D results, and achieving a win-win situation.”
TEA has established various collaborative relationships with top universities and research institutes both domestically and internationally to jointly carry out key technology R&D and demonstration applications in the energy field. In the future, the Academy will support the development of various business segments within the Group and lead business innovation in clean energy application technology research and development, as well as scientific and technological achievement conversion. Simultaneously, it will contribute new quality productive forces to the country’s clean energy sector, helping achieve its dual carbon goals.
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Press photos:
Photo 1:
Mr Peter Wong Wai-yee (2nd from right), Managing Director of Towngas, and Mr Alan Chan Ying-lung (1st from left), Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of Towngas, attend the technology product preview and Bay Area Smart Energy Exhibition Hall launch ceremony held by the Towngas Energy Academy at the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.
Photo 2:
Mr Peter Wong Wai-yee, Managing Director of Towngas, hopes to deepen industry-academia-research cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong through TEA, helping the country achieve its dual carbon goals.
Photo 3:
Mr Yu Jie, Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Park Development Authority of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone, hopes TEA will participate in more major scientific research projects in the future, making greater contributions to the high-quality development of the clean energy industry.
Photo 4:
Guests tour the Bay Area Smart Energy Exhibition Hall of TEA.
Photo 5:
The Bay Area Smart Energy Exhibition Hall is an important platform for showcasing clean energy technology achievements in the Greater Bay Area.
Photo 6:
Mr Peter Wong Wai-yee, Managing Director of Towngas, visits the Bay Area Smart Energy Exhibition Hall.
Photo 7:
The event showcases Towngas Energy Academy’s fruitful research results from its two years of establishment, including (from left) first-generation crystalline silicon photovoltaics, second-generation thin-film photovoltaics, and third-generation perovskite photovoltaics developed in collaboration between Towngas and City University of Hong Kong.
Photo 8:
Guests learn about the latest innovative technology products developed by TEA.
Photo 9:
TEA previews multiple innovative technology products set to make their official debut at the International Digital Energy Expo 2024 in Shenzhen from 8-11 September.
Photo 10:
Dr John Qiu Jian-hang, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer – Renewable Business of Towngas Smart Energy, hopes that TEA will continue to grow and develop in the Loop area, helping to advance technological innovation and industrialisation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
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The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited