Recently, Professor Peter D Lund, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and professor at our institute, was invited to attend the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference held in Beijing.
At the "Engineering Technology Innovation Forum" hosted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Professor Peter joined other experts in a panel discussion centered on the theme "Engineering Technology Innovation Leading High-Quality Development." Professor Peter noted that in recent years, China has continuously increased investment in science and technology, made persistent efforts in R&D and innovation, and achieved remarkable progress. He pointed out that, backed by a solid talent pool and efficient technology transfer capabilities, China has risen to the forefront of global scientific and technological innovation. He also mentioned that China has explicitly set the goal of strengthening the source function of international science and technology innovation centers during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and emphasized that paying attention to China's technological development and deepening cooperation with China is of great significance to all countries.
Professor Peter also delivered a keynote report titled "Next-Generation Technologies and Systems for the Energy Transition." He provided an in-depth analysis of the global energy transition framework and investment trends, noting that while investment in clean energy transition hit a record high in 2025, the energy foundation is undergoing a fundamental shift from reliance on fossil fuels to reliance on critical mineral resources. Addressing the urgent need for flexibility in new power systems due to the high penetration of renewable energy, he systematically elaborated on the core factors affecting the development of new energy, emphasizing the cutting-edge application of artificial intelligence in accelerating clean energy technology innovation, the pivotal role of hydrogen energy and electrochemical conversion in closing the carbon cycle, and the strategic value of the circular economy in resolving critical material bottlenecks. Furthermore, he offered forward-looking insights into the large-scale development pathways of next-generation clean energy technologies, proposing that modular and granular technologies facilitate scalable production and accelerate commercialization. He also pointed out that the economic evaluation metric for the industry is shifting from the simple Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) to the Value-Adjusted Levelized Cost of Energy (VALCOE).
Professor Peter D Lund's excellent reports received high praise from the leadership of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the attending experts.
The 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, approved by the State Council, is an international science and technology event co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology, and the Beijing Municipal Government. The theme of this year's annual conference is "Deep Integration of Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation."
Submitted by: Department of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering
Reviewed by: Sun Dongke
