On November 23, 2024, under the guidance of the Ministry of Education's Degree Management and Graduate Education Department, and organized by the China Association for Graduate Education and the Youth Science and Technology Center of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, the final of the third China Graduate Student "Dual Carbon" Innovation and Creativity Competition was held at Wuhan University of Technology. In this competition, 2,636 entries from universities across the country participated, involving 13,180 participants, with ultimately 267 teams advancing to the finals. After rigorous evaluation by the judges, 53 first prizes, 154 second prizes, and 334 third prizes were awarded. Five students from ICARE participated in the competition, achieving excellent results with one gold, one silver, and two bronze awards.

Among the awardees, the team led by Prof. Liu Zicheng, a ICARE Chinese mentor from School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, which included ICARE student Fu Yu won the first prize with project titled "High-efficiency and Low-carbon Three-in-one Electric Drive System for Electric Vehicles". The team led by Prof. Yao Yonggang, a ICARE Chinese mentor from School of Materials Science and Engineering, which included ICARE student Lian Junyi received the national second prize with project titled "Development of High-performance Green Hydrogen Production Catalyst and Large-scale Preparation Technology". Teams guided by ICARE mentors Yang Yang and Chen Yingquan from School of Energy and Power Engineering, which included ICARE student Jin Hengrui, and a team that included ICARE student Long Hai won the national third prize.

Fu Yu's team, based on their independently developed series-wound topology structure, proposed an efficient and low-carbon electric drive system for electric vehicles that integrates a power electronics transmission, motor controller, and on-board charger. They addressed key challenges using core technologies, introducing a topology switching strategy to achieve power electronics gear shifting in the electric drive system. This approach enhances the system's high-efficiency range without adding weight while expanding its operating range, effectively improving the range of electric vehicles and their power output at high speeds.

Lian Junyi's team addressed strategic needs such as the shortage of efficient hydrogen catalyst materials by developing China’s first efficient, energy-saving, joule-heating roll-to-roll catalyst mass production equipment. This equipment enables the development and mass production of low-cost, high-activity, and highly stable hydrogen catalysts and electrodes, receiving recognition from the judges.

The innovative solutions presented by both teams highlight advancements in electric vehicle technology and hydrogen energy, demonstrating significant potential for practical application and market impact.

The project "Research on Catalytic Decomposition Reduction Technology for Emission Reduction and Efficiency Improvement in the Cement Industry" by Jin Hengrui's team combines experimentation with simulation modeling to achieve the goal of guiding emission reduction and efficiency improvement in the cement industry from theory to practice.

The project "Research on the Transformation Planning Path of Energy Systems in Megacities under Carbon Neutrality" by Long Hai's team focuses primarily on the planning path for the transformation of energy systems in megacities under the context of carbon neutrality. Addressing major challenges such as insufficient system support on the supply side, difficulties in low-carbon transition on the demand side, and a lack of coordination in campaign-style emission reductions, the research comprehensively considers traditional coal-fired power, reservoir hydroelectricity, battery and pumped storage, rooftop and facade photovoltaics, centralized wind and photovoltaic power, and zero/negative carbon coal-fired power as the main energy supply entities for urban energy systems. On the demand side, it considers steel, cement, residential buildings, commercial buildings, rail transit, and road traffic as the primary energy-consuming entities. Using electricity, industry, transportation, and buildings as key sectors, the project models the energy system for megacities. Ultimately, using Wuhan City as a case study, it applies high-precision and efficient solution algorithms to derive transformation planning outcomes, conducting research on decarbonization technologies and pathway selection for cities, and presenting a realistic vision of future carbon neutrality for megacities. This project exemplified innovative approaches to addressing critical issues in the cement industry and urban energy systems, showcasing potential solutions for practical application and strategic planning towards sustainability.