U.S. China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) Program Hosts First U.S.-China Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting in Shanghai, China

October 20, 2017

On Oct. 19^th, the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE) program hosted its first U.S.-China bilateral Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting at the Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) Headquarters (HQ) Asia-Pacific (APAC) in Shanghai, China. More than 80 stakeholders from the U.S. and Chinese government, researcher institutes, national laboratories, private industry, and non-government organizations (NGO) discussed the technologies, policies, and demonstrations needed to achieve CERC-BEE 2.0 goals by 2020.

The event kicked-off with the opening remarks from the Chinese IAB Chair and Deputy Director of China State Construction and Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), Jiang Lihong, and the U.S. IAB Chair and Vice President of Global Sustainability and Industry Initiatives at Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI), Clay Nesler. Perspectives from the U.S. and Chinese government on the role of industry in advancing research, development and deployment (RD&D) of building energy efficiency technologies under CERC-BEE were then discussed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) CERC-BEE Manager, Marc LaFrance, and the China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD) Center for Science and Technology of Construction (CSTC) CERC-BEE Representative, Ma Xinbo. The U.S. CERC-BEE Director, Dr. Nan Zhou, also provided an overview of CERC-BEE’s recent achievements and plans going forward.

Following opening remarks, U.S. and Chinese IAB members participated in four moderated panel discussions to: (1) define the goals of CERC-BEE 2.0; (2) identify the technologies to achieve CERC-BEE 2.0 goals; (3) select the policies to achieve CERC-BEE 2.0 goals; (4) and discuss the role of demonstration and showcase projects to achieve CERC-BEE 2.0 goals. Participating U.S. industry partners included: BASF, Saint-Gobain, Dow Chemical, Lutron, Disney, LumenCache, Citibank, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), JCI, Paulson Institute, Energy Systems Group, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and Heller Manus. Participating Chinese IAB partners included: China Academy of Building Research (CABR), Singyes Solar, CSCEC, Persagy, MOHURD CSTC, Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (SZ IBR), China Association of Building Energy Efficiency (CABEE), China Southwest Architecture Design & Research Institute, and Tianpu New Energy.

This was followed by a presentation from Carolyn Szum, Program Manager of CERC-BEE, who introduced a new U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) sole-source grant opportunity to demonstrate U.S. CERC-BEE technologies at the Shenzhen IBR CERC-BEE demonstration building.

The meeting concluded with an open discussion led by the U.S. and Chinese IAB Chairs, JCI and CSCEC, on work plans for recruiting additional industry partners, increasing impact, and better leveraging CERC-BEE technologies from both U.S. and Chinese IABs.

U.S. and Chinese IAB partners hosted a number of activities prior to and after the IAB meeting. On Oct. 18^th in the evening, JCI and USGBC hosted a reception and networking meeting at JCI’s new HQ APAC triple-certified CERC-BEE demonstration building, which has earned the International Finance Corporation (IFC)-World Bank Group’s EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Certification, USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certification, and the China Green Building Design Label Three-Star Certification. On Oct. 19^th, CSCEC also hosted a banquet dinner for U.S. and Chinese IAB members. On Oct. 20^th, Disney hosted a technical, back-of-house tour of the Shanghai Disney Theme Park. Participants had the opportunity to tour Disney’s Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) Plant and its Three-Star Certified Green Building.

CERC-BEE is a ten-year initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the China Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), implemented by LBNL and China MOHURD to support leading scientists from the U.S. and China in collaborative RD&D of advanced building technologies.

Oct. 18th CERC-BEE IAB Evening Reception at JCI HQ APAC

Oct 19^th IAB Meeting 1^st Panel Discussion: Defining the Goals of CERC-BEE 2.0

Oct. 20^th Combined Cooling Heating and Power (CCHP) Plant Technical Tour at Disney Shanghai Theme Park