The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has officially established the InnoHK Research Centre for Intelligent GRID and Energy Technologies (InnoHK I-GET). Joining “SEAM@InnoHK”, the third cluster under the HKSAR Government’s InnoHK platform, InnoHK I-GET is the only InnoHK initiative dedicated to power grid technology. Based in Hong Kong, the Centre brings together scientific and industrial strengths from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and international partners to advance research, validation, standard-setting, and industrialisation of smart grids, directly supporting national and local carbon neutrality goals.
Rising electricity demand from AI data centres, electric vehicles, and renewable energy, combined with the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, places severe pressure on traditional, one-way power grids. To tackle these urban energy challenges, InnoHK I-GET leverages AI and big data analytics to modernise grid infrastructure. The Centre focuses on four main research pillars: autonomous energy management technologies, green and intelligent grid interfaces, grid-friendly new energy transport, and emerging grid and energy technologies. Its cross-disciplinary work spans smart grids, electrified transportation, AI, power electronics, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies to ensure system resilience and reliability.
The Centre is led by Director Prof. Chung Chi-yung, Head of the PolyU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chair Professor of Power Systems Engineering, and Director of the Research Centre for Grid Modernisation, alongside Co-Director Prof. Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi, Senior Vice President (Research & Special Initiatives) at King’s College London. InnoHK I-GET unites more than 70 professors globally and collaborates with institutions including King’s College London, Tsinghua University, Université Gustave Eiffel, National Technical University of Athens, Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research, University of Sheffield and Suzhou National Laboratory.
Funded by the InnoHK research initiative and based at Hong Kong Science Park, InnoHK I-GET partners with 60 key industry leaders, including China Southern Power Grid Company, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, HK Electric, and Companhia de Electricidade de Macau – CEM, S.A.. To translate breakthroughs into practice, Director Prof. Chung Chi-yung outlined a clear commercialisation pipeline that begins with technology transfer at Hong Kong Science Park and progresses to pilot testing and production at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Northern Metropolis. Supported by Hong Kong’s financial infrastructure and international talent, the Centre aims to establish global industry standards and export Hong Kong’s energy innovations worldwide.
