IFRF are pleased to announce that Zhejiang University (ZJU) has become its third ‘Preferred Research Partner’ (PRP) following signature of an Memorandum of Understanding by IFRF Director Philip Sharman and ZJU’s Professor Hao Zhou.  This adds significant additional test capabilities to the current IFRF PRP portfolio provided by the University of Sheffield’s Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC) in the UK – the new home of IFRF – and the Gas-und Wärme-Institut (GWI) in Essen, Germany.

As noted in an IFRF blog in 2019 introducing the seven new Chinese members of IFRF, ZJU is one of China’s top higher education institutions, as well as one of its oldest, with its roots going back to 1897 and the founding of the Qiushi Academy.  Located in Hangzhou, the University is organised across seven faculties and 37 schools.  It is home to over 3,700 full-time faculty members, including 46 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.  ZJU has over 54,000 students, over 50% of whom are postgraduate students.  The University prides itself on a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship with ZJU researchers making an impact across many priority areas, addressing global challenges including artificial intelligence, assembly technology for large aircraft, clean energy, ocean technology, industrial control technology and global public health initiatives related to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

During a visit to ZJU in 2018, Philip Sharman noted that ZJU has pilot-scale facilities including circulating fluidised bed (15t/d) and pulverised fuel (1-2MW_th) combustion rigs, a CFB pyrolysis/gasification rig (1MW_th, 3-6MJ/Nm³), a combustion fractional multi-gen test facility (15t/d), tangentially-fired and down-fired burner test facilities (3.5MW_th), a large single burner test rig (9MW_th), an oxy-combustion rig and other test furnaces, sintering pots, a large steam generator system and concentrated solar power molten salt storage simulation capability.  The laboratory facilities include advanced laser diagnostics (LII, PIV, PDA, HT LIF), 3-D holography, ‘Rainbow’ measurement techniques and high-speed camera optical methods.  Philip also noted that a new pilot-scale research facility has been opened about 30km from Hangzhou, offering a further 34,500m² of R&D space, plus lab- and bench-scale facilities.

IFRF looks forward to fruitful collaboration with ZJU in the future on R&D topics of mutual interest.

Faculty of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University