ICNERA 2022 | Shanghai, China

Conference Speakers

ICNERA 2022 Speakers

Prof. Mohan Lal Kolhe
(Keynote Speaker)

Universitetet of Agder, Norway

Keynote Lecture: Electric Vehicles’ Fast Charging Station: Technical Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: Electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations (CSs) with innovative operation management strategies can help to meet the growing EV charging needs. Despite the short charging time associated with the fast charging of EVs, massive deployment of plugged-in EVs for fast charging triggers network surges in the distributed network. Nevertheless, these challenges can be effectively addressed with appropriate EV admission control, charging resource allocation, and coordinated charging strategies.

Biography: Prof. Dr. Mohan Lal Kolhe is a full professor in smart grid and renewable energy at the Faculty of Engineering and Science of the University of Agder (Norway). He is a leading renewable energy technologist with three decades of academic experience at the international level and previously held academic positions at the world's prestigious universities, e.g., University College London (UK / Australia), University of Dundee (UK); University of Jyvaskyla (Finland); Hydrogen Research Institute, QC (Canada); etc. In addition, he was a member of the Government of South Australia’s first Renewable Energy Board (2009-2011) and worked on developing renewable energy policies. Due to his enormous academic contributions to sustainable energy systems, he has been offered the posts of Vice-Chancellor of Homi Bhabha State University Mumbai (Cluster University of Maharashtra Government, India), full professorship(s) / chair(s) in 'sustainable engineering technologies/systems' and 'smart grid' from the Teesside University (UK) and Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) respectively.

Professor Kolhe is an expert evaluator of many prestigious international research councils (e.g., European Commission: Erasmus+ Higher Education – International Capacity Building, Royal Society London (UK), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC UK), etc.). In addition, many international organizations have invited him to deliver keynote addresses, expert lectures, workshops, etc. He has also been a member of many academic promotional committees.

Professor Kolhe has successfully won competitive research funding from the prestigious research councils (e.g., Norwegian Research Council, EU, EPSRC, BBSRC, NRP, etc.) for his work on sustainable energy systems. His research works in energy systems have been recognized within the top 2% of scientists globally by Stanford University’s 2020 matrix. He is an internationally recognized pioneer in his field, whose top 10 published works have an average of over 165 citations each.

Prof. Tek Tjing Lie
(Keynote Speaker)

Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Keynote Lecture: Electric Vehicle Technologies, Charging Methods, Standards and Optimization Techniques: A Review

Abstract: A state-of-the-art review of electric vehicle technology, charging methods, standards, and optimization techniques will be presented. The essential characteristics of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) and Electric Vehicle (EV) are first discussed. Recent research on EV charging methods such as Battery Swap Station (BSS), Wireless Power Transfer (WPT), and Conductive Charging (CC) are then presented. This is followed by a discussion of EV standards such as charging levels and their configurations. Next, some of the most used optimization techniques for the sizing and placement of EV charging stations are analysed. Finally, based on the insights gained, several recommendations are put forward for future research.

Biography: Professor Tek Tjing LIE received his BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University, USA in 1986. He also received his MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University, USA in 1988 and 1992 respectively.
Professor Lie is the Deputy Head of School of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. His research interests include AI applications to power systems, power system control and operation, deregulated power systems, smart grids, and renewable energy systems. He has authored/co-authored more than 250 journal and international conference papers.

Prof. Qinmin Yang
(Keynote Speaker)

Zhejiang University, China

Keynote Lecture: Theoretical research and practice in intelligent control design for wind energy

Abstract: Wind energy has been considered to be a promising alternative to current fossil-based energies. Large-scale wind turbines have been widely deployed to substantiate the renewable energy strategy of various countries. In this talk, challenges faced by control community for high reliable and efficient exploitation of wind energy are discussed. Advanced controllers are designed to (partially) overcome problems, such as uncertainty, intermittence, and intense dynamics. Theoretical results and attempts for practice are both present.

Biography: Qinmin Yang received the Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, China in 2001, the Master of Science Degree in Control Science and Engineering from Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China in 2004, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, MO USA, in 2007.

From 2007 to 2008, he was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at University of Missouri-Rolla. From 2008 to 2009, he was an advanced system engineer with Caterpillar Inc. From 2009 to 2010, he was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at University of Connecticut. Since 2010, he has been with the State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, the College of Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, China, where he is currently a professor. He has also held visiting positions in University of Toronto and Lehigh University. He has been serving as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control, Processes, and Automatica Sinica. His research interests include intelligent control, renewable energy systems, smart grid, and industrial big data.

Prof. Zhen Yan
(Invited Speaker)

Shandong University, China

Invited Lecture: Advances in bioconversion of greenhouse gases to liquid fuels

Abstract: China has proposed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 under the situation of tremendous greenhouse gases emission leading to global warming. For achieving this great goal, reducing emission sources and increasing utilization sinks of greenhouse gases are two key strategies. The third-generation biorefinery technology based on microbial utilization of greenhouse gases to synthesize fuels and chemicals was proposed, which provides a potential solution for achieving carbon neutrality in terms of increasing sinks.
Cyanobacteria are commonly employed microbial cell factories in the third-generation biorefinery technology because they can efficiently utilize atmospheric CO2 for photoautotrophic growth. Genetic modification of cyanobacteria to synthesize butanol-based liquid fuels with high octane number and low hygroscopicity using CO2 has become a promising bioenergy refining technology. However, the main problem for this biotechnology is lower yield of liquid fuels and lack of stable and convenient strategies to improve the production. We recently found that high salinity stress can significantly enhance the production of engineered cyanobacteria to produce isobutanol, and the enhancing mechanism was revealed by metabolomics and biochemical analysis. A cultivation system was subsequently developed by mixing synthetic wastewater with seawater to grow the engineered cyanobacteria, providing a cost-effective approach to biofuel production.
CH4 is 20~30 times more potent than equimolar CO2 to cause greenhouse effect. The directional conversion of CH4 under mild condition has always been a “Holy Grail” because of high symmetric CH4 molecules. It is a potential approach to utilize methanotrophic growth microbes to achieve bioconversion of CH4. We recently developed a methanogenic archaea, which can be transformed to methanotrophic growth driven by reduction of humic acid, to produce bioethanol using CH4. The metabolic flux from CH4 to ethanol was analyzed, and modification strategies to enhance the yield of bioethanol were proposed.

Biography: Dr. Zhen Yan is a professor from School of Environmental Science and Engineering in Shandong University. He obtained Ph.D degree from the University of Tokyo in Japan, and did postdoctoral training in the University of Michigan and Pennsylvania State University. He has been working on development of bioenergy using energy microbiology, achieving in bioconversion of greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and CH4, into liquid fuels. He has published paper in Nature communications, mBio, Biotechnology for Biofuels, Environmental Science:Nano, Frontiers in Microbiology and Molecular Microbiology as first or corresponding authors, and being undertaking projects in National and Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation.