Event Recap | Inaugural "AI + Energy" Laboratory Academic Forum and First Academic Committee Meeting Successfully Held
On April 19, 2026, the inaugural Academic Forum of the "AI + Energy" Joint Laboratory and the first meeting of its Academic Committee were held at the auditorium of SLAI. The forum was co-hosted by SLAI, Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS), and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen). Co-organized by the Shenzhen Key Lab of Crowd Intelligence Empowered Low-carbon Energy Network, the event brought together several academicians, renowned scholars, and industrial experts to engage in deep discussions on frontier issues regarding AI-enabled energy systems.
Opening Remarks: Embarking on a New Journey Together
Speech by Prof. Huang Jianwei, Co-Director of the Laboratory
Prof. Huang Jianwei, Co-Director of the Lab, jointly appointed professor at SLAI, Associate Vice President of CUHK-Shenzhen, and Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, recounted the laboratory's development journey. He noted that the three founding parties have already established a solid foundation of cooperation, yielding significant results such as "Mingyue," China's first provincial-level multi-LLM agent-assisted grid AI operator, and the "Zhixingzhe No. 1" humanoid robot. Moving forward, the laboratory will leverage the industrial scenarios of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation alongside the research capabilities of SLAI and AIRS to build an innovation ecosystem characterized by the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application.
Speech by Ruan Mianhui, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation
Ruan Mianhui, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, stated that the establishment of the laboratory is a concrete step toward implementing the national "AI+" initiative. It also represents a vital move for Guangdong Power Grid Corporation to fulfill its mission of building new power systems and energy frameworks. He emphasized that Guangdong Power Grid Corporation will prioritize talent cultivation, and strengthen foundational AI capabilities in computing power, models, data, and application scenarios while making full use of this high-level laboratory platform to deepen the integration of scientific research and industry. The initiative aims to support Guangdong's emerging intelligent economy and contribute to the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Academic Forum: Keynote Presentations
Academician Li Shipeng: Building Evolvable Intelligent Systems for the Low-Altitude Economy
Academician Li Shipeng of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Executive Dean of the Low Altitude Space Economy Research Center (LASER Center) of the International Digital Economy Academy (IDEA), and IEEE Fellow, delivered a keynote presentation on low-altitude operation management and intelligent infrastructure development. He highlighted strategies for building spatiotemporal data foundations, computing engines, and simulation platforms for low-altitude scenarios. He proposed that low-altitude intelligent systems should evolve progressively according to local conditions while gradually developing integrated capabilities in perception, computation, deduction, decision-making, and service delivery.
Prof. Dong Zhaoyang: Empowering New Power Systems with AI
Prof. Dong Zhaoyang, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong, and IEEE Fellow, focused his presentation on energy storage management. He shared frontier research exploring AI and data-driven methods in intelligent microgrids, virtual power plants, and integrated computing-energy systems. He emphasized that the deep integration of data-driven approaches with physical mechanisms and engineering constraints will become a core trend for the future development of intelligent energy systems.
Prof. Xing Guoliang: Bringing Embedded AI into Real-world Scenarios
Prof. Xing Guoliang, Dual Appointed Professor at SLAI, Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and IEEE/ACM Fellow, discussed research progress in vehicle-road collaborative perception, early screening of chronic diseases, and home health monitoring within the contexts of autonomous driving and smart healthcare. He outlined a new vision for embedded AI that is increasingly individuation long-term development, and scenario-oriented.
Laboratory Overview
The "AI + Energy" Joint Laboratory was co-founded by Guangdong Power Grid Corporation, SLAI, and AIRS. It was officially inaugurated at the AI Conference of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation held in Guangzhou on March 20, 2026.
The laboratory is commited to key technological breakthroughs, talent cultivation, and achievement transformation in the fields of AI and energy. Focusing on core research priorities such as power multimodal large models, compute-power synergy, and large-scale renewable energy integration, the laboratory aims to build an innovation ecosystem deeply integrating industry, academia, research, and application to support China's dual-carbon strategy and the high-quality development of GBA.
The First Academic Committee of the Laboratory
| Sun Hongbin | Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Taiyuan University of Technology, Tenured Professor at Tsinghua University, IEEE Fellow |
| Wang Chengshan | Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Dean and Professor of the School of Electrical Automation and Information Engineering, Tianjin University |
| Xiang Haiping | Former Chief Engineer of the National Energy Administration |
| You Xiaohu | Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Distinguished Professor of Southeast University, Director and Chief Scientist of Purple Mountain Laboratories, Deputy Director of Peng Cheng Laboratory, IEEE Fellow |
| Bie Zhaohong | Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Xi'an Jiaotong University Committee and Executive Vice-President, IEEE Fellow |
| Dong Zhaoyang | Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong, IEEE Fellow |
| Huang Jianwei | Dual-appointed professor at SLAI, Associate Vice-President and Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, CUHK-Shenzhen, Vice President of AIRS, IEEE Fellow |
| Li Shipeng | Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Executive Dean of LASER Center of IDEA Research Institute, IEEE Fellow |
| Lu Yong | Former First-Class Researcher and Director of Market Supervision Division, South China Energy Regulatory Bureau, National Energy Administration; Executive Director of China Energy Research Society |
| Shen Lianfeng | Professor of Southeast University |
| Song Xuan | Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence, Jilin University, National Leading Talent in Scientific and Technological Innovation |
| Wen Fushuan | Professor of Zhejiang University, IEEE Fellow |
| Xing Guoliang | Dual-appointed professor at SLAI, Professor of CUHK, IEEE/ACM Fellow |
| Yang Hongming | Vice President of Changsha University of Science and Technology |
| Zhang Hui | Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (School of Future Technology), Hunan University |
| Zheng Weishi | Deputy Dean of SLAI, Deputy Dean of the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University |
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| Chen Jun | Chief Information Officer of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation |
| Huang Jianwei | Dual-appointed professor at SLAI, Associate Vice President of CUHK-Shenzhen and Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, Vice President of AIRS, IEEE Fellow |
| Chen Xu | Dual-appointed professor at SLAI and Professor at Sun Yat-sen University |
| Ding Ning | Executive Vice President of AIRS |
| Wang Guorui | General Manager of Enterprise Architecture and Digitalization Department of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation |
| Zhao Junhua | Professor of CUHK-Shenzhen, Deputy Director of the Center for Crowd Intelligence of AIRS, IET Fellow |
| Yang Yongjiao | Deputy Manager, Platform Department, Digital Intelligence Operations Center, Guangdong Power Grid Corporation |
Looking Ahead, Striving Forward
In the afternoon, the laboratory held its first Academic Committee Meeting. Committee members and the laboratory team engaged in in-depth discussions regarding future research directions, development plans, and operational mechanisms, offering invaluable guidance for the lab's long-term growth.
Scene of the Academic Committee Meeting
The successful hosting of the inaugural "AI + Energy" Joint Laboratory Academic Meeting broadened academic horizons and consolidated consensus on key technological research, platform development, and collaborative innovation. Looking forward, the laboratory will continue to focus on frontier issues at the intersection of AI and energy, advance the in-depth integration of industry, academia, research, and application, and contribute to the development of new quality productive forces in GBA and the construction of China as an energy powerhouse.
Group Photo of Participants
