Zhong Lin Wang was awarded in the Non-Conventional Energy category 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.
Ruzhu Wang emerged as the laureate in the New Ways of Energy Application category for his research in sorption cooling, which has significantly improved the technology of using low-grade thermal energy to create high-efficiency cooling, as well as for a significant contribution to the development of a dehumidifier-based heat pump, which doubled the energy efficiency of cooling and heating.
The Prizes were presented to the winners by Alexander Novak, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.
“I would like to thank the Global Energy Prize for this outstanding award, which is a great honor for me and my team. I would like to thank many people, especially my family, my team members, for their work over the years, and this is a great moment. Our invention is the most revolutionary since 1831, when the principle of operation of electromagnetic generators was discovered. It can be used for both large-scale and small-scale applications, from harvesting energy from the surface of the ocean to making autonomous sensors suitable for medical devices and security systems. Therefore, it will contribute to the sustainable development of the entire world,” Zhong Lin Wang said.
“I would like to thank the Global Energy Prize committee for selecting me as a Global Energy Prize winner in the New Energy Applications category. This award would not have been possible without Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as my students and my colleagues. Ours research helps provide China and the world with clean, high-efficiency, low-carbon steam energy for industrial and residential use. With huge decarbonization potential, desiccant based heat pumps will improve safety of cooling and heating technologies, which are also used in railway transportation. This research has great practical importance,” Ruzhu Wang stressed.
“The past nomination cycle has proven that the Global Energy Prize has firmly established itself as a renowned international award that recognises breakthrough research in the field of energy. I hope that the works of this year’s laureates will make an important contribution to innovations in both energy production and consumption”, noted Rae Kwon Chung, Chairman of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee and Nobel Prize laureate.
During the ceremony, an Honorary Diploma was presented to a foreign scientist on behalf of the Global Energy Association. Ljubivoje Popovic, who dedicated his entire life to working at the Electric Power Distribution Company of Belgrade, was awarded for developing a methodology that makes it possible to determine the relevant characteristics of high-voltage and ultra-high-voltage cable lines.
“I am very grateful to the Global Energy Association for recognising my achievements in electric power engineering. As a man of advanced years, I cannot say that this award will incentivise me to obtain new scientific results, but I will spend the rest of my life much more satisfied than before. Every time I look at this diploma I am reminded that I did not waste my life. As the great Serbian poet Petar Petrović-Njegoš said about those who had left behind works of lasting value, blessed is he whose name lives forever; a good reason had to be alive,” Ljubivoje Popovic said.
