Professor Yi-Chun Lu has been awarded the Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award (HKEST Award) 2023 by the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences for her accomplishments and contributions in materials science, engineering and energy engineering, particularly sustainable battery technology.

Professor Lu was honoured by the recognition and stated that she and her team will continue to advance energy storage technology for a future of safe, sustainable energy.

Professor Lu has made ground-breaking contributions in engineering science and technology, focusing on sustainable battery technology, to address global warming. Her work in developing advanced, environmentally friendly battery technologies aligns closely with global efforts towards sustainable energy solutions. Her key innovations include developing molecular crowding electrolytes for high-voltage aqueous batteries and pioneering the world’s first low-cost, high-power, polysulphide-based flow battery with a novel charge-reinforce ion-selective membrane and biomimetic molecular catalyst. These projects represent examples of technology transfer and commercialisation.

Professor Lu’s contributions extend beyond the laboratory, impacting both the academic and commercial sectors in engineering science and technology. In 2020, she co-founded Luquos Energy, a start-up incubated by CUHK, focusing on scalable, safe, sustainable battery technologies for grid storage. Luquos Energy was chosen as one of the Top 10 Flow Battery Startups to Watch in 2023 by the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, an international data-science platform.

Professor Lu displays the green battery prototype developed at CUHK.

CUHK Press Release: Click here!