Two Chinese scientists have joined the Global Energy Prize laureates family.

The Global Energy Prize 2023 has gone to two scientists from China: Prof. Wang Ruzhu from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Prof. Wang Zhonglin from Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems.

It's the first time that Chinese scientists have won this prize.

The Global Energy Prize is an international award in the energy industry that recognizes outstanding scientific research and scientific-technical developments in the field of energy. It aims to promote greater efficiency and environmental security for energy sources on Earth in the interests of all mankind.

Since 2003, the prize has been bestowed on 48 scientists from 15 countries – Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Ukraine and the U.S.

It includes three categories: New Ways of Energy Application, Non-Conventional Energy and Conventional Energy.

Based on votes from the Prize's International Award Committee, which consists of 16 scientists from 11 countries and is chaired by Rae Kwon Chung, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, this year, the category New Ways of Energy Application was awarded to Wang Ruzhu.

Wang is chair professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and director of its Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics at School of Mechanical Engineering. He has carried out groundbreaking research in refrigeration, heat pump and thermal management.

The award is for Wang's research in sorption cooling, which has significantly improved the technology of using low-grade thermal energy to create high-efficiency cooling. It's also for his significant contribution to the development of a dehumidifier-based heat pump, which doubled the energy efficiency of cooling and heating.

The category Non-Conventional Energy went to Wang Zhonglin, founding director of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, for the invention of triboelectric nanogenerators as a new energy technology for autonomous systems, the Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence, and large-scale blue energy harvesting.

"The research made by the 2023 laureates highly contributes to the development of off-grid energy supply and energy efficiency," said Chung, head of the committee.

"The future of the energy transition largely depends on the success of these fields. This once again underlines how thin is the line between fundamental science and the real world of energy."

The Conventional Energy nomination was left without a laureate this year as no candidate was able to obtain the required number of votes from the International Award Committee.

The prize fund of US$430,000 will be split evenly between the two laureates this year.

Source: SHINE

Editor: Yang Meiping

Editor on Duty: Diwei Chen

Responsible Editor: Qianqian Jiang, Yuhe Fu