On June 2nd, the Tsinghua – Toshiba Energy & Environmental Research Center was officially opened during a ceremony in the Reception Hall of the Main Building of Tsinghua University by Gu Binglin, President of Tsinghua University, and Noriko Sasaki, President of Toshiba.
Gu Binglin spoke highly of the collaboration between Tsinghua and Toshiba over the past years, and hoped that with effort from both parties, the research center could further promote the academic development of Tsinghua and make contributions to tackle the global challenges of energy conservation and environmental protection.
Mr. Sasaki expressed his gratitude for the assistance and sympathy from China after the earthquake in March. He also congratulated Tsinghua University on its centennial anniversary, adding that he sincerely hoped that Tsinghua and Toshiba will continue to enhance their cooperation in scientific research, and achieve greater successes together in the future.
Toshiba and Tsinghua kicked off the research collaboration in the fields of energy and environment in October 2007. Going a step further, the Tsinghua University (Department of Thermal Engineering) – Toshiba Energy and Environment Research Center was established in April 2008. The Research Center is devoted to research in steam turbines and other power generating devices with high performance and long life-span, and to the development of technology in energy saving, smart grids, and CCS(Carbon Capture and Storage). Some technologies relevant for the situation in China, for example the development of wear resistant technology for hydro-turbines in hydro electric power stations, and the biosensors for water quality monitoring systems, have been developed. Moreover, some of these new technologies have entered into the phase of field verification. With the efforts from both parties, the research center has been upgraded via the new center to enhance the cooperative relationship with all departments of Tsinghua University.
Xie Weihe, Vice President of Tsinghua University, Ichiro Tai, Vice President of Toshiba, Akira Sudo, Executive Officer and Corporate Senior Vice President of Toshiba, and representatives from Departments of Thermal Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical Engineering, and from the School of Environment of Tsinghua also took part in the ceremony.
