Event

Date: May 19, 2022 (Thursday)
Time: 10am - 12pm
Mode: Zoom
Medium: English
Zoom Details: ID- 988 7427 4741 | Password- 539807 (no pre-registration required)

Chair:
Prof. Haizhou Li
Associate Dean (Research), Presidential Chair Professor, School of Data Science, CUHK(SZ)

Speakers:
Prof. Yi-Chun Lu
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, CUHK

Prof. Yi-Chun Lu received her Ph.D. degree from MIT in 2012. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She serves as the Associate Editor of Journal of Materials Chemistry A and Materials Advances from Royal Society of Chemistry. She is Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, Founding Member of Young Academy of Science of Hong Kong and was the recipient of Xplorer Prize 2021, IBA Early Career Award 2021, Excellent Young Scientists, National Natural Science Foundation of China (2019), Young Researchers Award (2016), and Hong Kong SAR Research Grants Council Early Career Award (2014). Dr. Lu's research interest centers on developing fundamental understandings and material design principles for clean energy storage and conversion. Specifically, her research group is studying: Electrode and electrolyte design for high-energy metal-air and metal sulfur batteries; Redox-active components and solution chemistry for redox-flow batteries; Electrode and electrolyte design for high-voltage aqueous batteries; Mechanistic understanding of interfacial phenomena governing electrochemical energy conversion and storage processes.

Topic: Safe and Low-Cost Aqueous Energy Storage Technologies and Their Applications

Abstract:
Energy storage system is a critical enabling factor for deploying unstable and intermittent renewable power sources, such as solar and wind power sources. Non-aqueous lithium ion batteries dominate the battery markets owing to its high energy density. However, they are flammable, which could bring catastrophic damages in large-scale applications. Redox flow batteries are promising technologies for large-scale electricity storage, owing to its design flexibility in decoupling power and energy capacity. However, redox flow batteries have been suffering from low energy density, which significantly decreases its competitiveness for both stationary and transportation applications. In this presentation, we will discuss strategies to improve the safety, energy density, and cycle life of Li-ion batteries and redox flow batteries. Ultimately, we aim to enable stable and efficient high-energy-density energy storage systems to address the sever intermittency of the renewable power sources. This will bridge the gap between intermittent renewable power supplies and power demands in grid-storage and electric-vehicles. 

Prof. Junhua Zhao
Associate Professor, School of Science and Engineering, CUHK(SZ)

Professor Junhua Zhao is an Associate Professor in CUHK(SZ), the Director of Energy Markets and Finance Lab at Shenzhen Finance Institute, and the Co-Director of Huadian Nanzi Clean Energy Research Centre at the Shenzhen Data Economy Institute. His research areas include smart grid, electricity market, energy economics, low-carbon energy transition and artificial intelligence. He published more than 200 research papers, including more than 60 papers in IEEE Transactions. His published papers have been cited more than 10300 times, with an H-index of 50. He is the Elsevier “Highly Cited Chinese Scholar”, and is selected in the “World’s top 2% scientists” released by Stanford University. He received “Young Scientist of the Future” awarded by the Australian Davos Connection forum, and 3 Science and Technology Progress Awards from Zhejiang and Hunan provincial governments. He takes various editor roles in several IEEE and IET journals. He is an advisor for the National Energy Administration of China, China Southern Power Grid, China Merchants Bank, and Guangdong Energy Group.

Topic: AI-driven low-carbon energy transition

Abstract:
Climate change is a serious challenge threatening human society. The energy sector contributes more than 80% of the global carbon emissions. The low-carbon energy transition is therefore of utmost importance for combating climate change. In this talk, we discuss how to apply AI techniques to several key problems related to low-carbon energy transition, including carbon accounting, power-carbon markets co-simulation, and data security in the energy sector.