On September 4th, 2024 – AIT Belt and Road Research Center (BRRC) coordinated an official meeting between the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute (CREEI) to strengthen the partnership between the two institutions and discuss concrete cooperation in the field of renewable energy and sustainable development in ASEAN region.The delegation from CREEI was led by Professor Gu Hongbin, Deputy Director General of CREEI. Participants from AIT include Prof. Nitin Kumar Tripathi, VPAA, Prof. Shobhakar Dhakal, SE, EECC, SERD, Dr. Wenchao Xue, Director, AITBRRC/Head of EEM, SET, Dr. Jai Govind Singh, Head of SE, EECC, SERD, Mr. Shawn P. Kelly, Executive Director, OIPA, Mr. Sanjeet Amatya, Director, OPA, Ms. Sai Tang, Program Officer, BRRC, and other supporting colleagues from AIT.
The partnership between AIT and CREEI was established back in 2021 through a MOU in the 5th East Asia Summit Clean Energy Forum organized by CREEI, ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), China’s National Energy Administration and other regional stakeholders in ASEAN. Since then, AIT and CREEI have been working together closely with the common objectives of promoting clean energy development in the ASEAN region, for example, supporting the draft of the declaration of think tank cooperation as proposed in 2023 China-ASEAN Clean Energy Week in Hainan Province, China.
This meeting is the result of both parties’ desire for closer cooperation in regional energy sustainable development. Both AIT and CREEI expressed a clear willingness to collaborate further by exchange and research on energy policy, market and technologies, etc., and to implement concrete co-operation specifically on power interconnections and cross-border power trade in the region. In addition, the two sides also went a step further to explore the possibility of establishing a co-operative lab or office for better collaboration in the future with the lead and support from BRRC. Specific cooperation details between the two parties were discussed in an earlier meeting between BRRC team and the CREEI delegation in BRRC meeting room.
In addition, CREEI expressed great interest in the AIT Botanic Garden Net-Zero Campus Plan by 2030 and looks forward to subsequent exchanges and cooperation in this project. After the meeting, the delegate of CREEI visited the EEM Labs, Energy Park project, and conducted communication with Prof. Weerakorn Ongsakul in Bangchak Initiative and Innovation Center.
The meeting and communication were successful and fruitful. Further actions will be taken to solidify concrete cooperation discussed in the meeting. CREEI, as a first-class domestic energy industry think tank organization with a history of more than 70 years, has been committed to providing technical services in the field of renewable energy for the government’s high-end decision-making and the healthy development of the industry in China and the region. The collaboration between AIT and CREEI is meaningful not only in the aspect of regional energy utilization, but also the sustainable development of regional economy and society. It marks a significant step in strengthening regional energy strategies and sustainable economic development.