TECO x NTU 2024 Net-Zero Emissions Technology International Competition
The final results of the "2024 Net-Zero Emissions Technology International Competition @ Taiwan" have been announced. The team from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA) won the international competition, while the team from Tsinghua University secured the championship in the main competition championship. Both teams were ecstatic to take home the top prizes of NT$1 million each, emerging as the biggest winners among 240 teams from 13 countries.
The international competition champion team from Virginia, USA, presented a bidirectional DC-DC converter with ultra-high efficiency for energy storage and supercharger applications. They outperformed over 90 teams from various countries, with their research aimed at enhancing the efficiency of charging equipment and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The main competition champion, the team from Tsinghua University, focused on rare earth magnetic materials and innovative low-carbon recycling and purification technology. Their goal is to separate rare earth elements from impurities as rare earth compounds, thereby simplifying the recycling process, aligning with low-carbon trends, and providing low-carbon raw materials.TECO Electric & Machinery Chairman, Mr. Li Ming-hsien, stated that the TECO Technology and Education Foundation is committed to nurturing global young scientists globally and promoting the integration of industry and higher education integration to tackle forward-looking challenges. He expressed enthusiasm at witnessing the exceptional teams propose solutions related to carbon capture, hydrogen production, energy storage, charging devices, waste heat recovery, and energy conservation—areas in which TECO is actively engaged in providing solutions for its customers. He looks forward to the future where competition participants can transform emerging technologies into practical industry solutions and collaborate with TECO to advance sustainable development for the planet.
Supported long-term by TECO Electric & Machinery, the TECO Technology & Education Foundation has been hosting the ‘GreenTech International Competition’ since 2008, with a focus on energy conservation and carbon reduction. This competition has become a significant platform for international students to showcase their technological skills and foster talent development. Since 2023, in partnership with National Taiwan University, the competition has been rebranded as the ‘Net-Zero Emissions Technology International Competition @ Taiwan,’ aligning with the ‘2050 Net-Zero Emissions’ policy and inviting top university faculty and students from around the globe to contribute to the field of net-zero technology. This year, the judging panel was led by NTU President Dr. Wen-Chang Chen as the head convener, with Dr. Fang-Ching Su, Chair Professor of Biomedical Engineering at National Cheng Kung University, serving as the convener for the international competition, and Dr. Yih-Ping Lin, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, serving as the convener for the main competition. The judging panels for both the international and main competitions included 15 members, including TECO R&D executives. Additionally, the competition was co-organized by the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), one of the most internationally representative academic organizations. This year’s event attracted 99 teams for the international competition and 141 teams for the main competition, totaling 998 participants from countries including the United States, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, who fiercely competed for a total prize pool of NTD 6.5 million. The scale of the competition positions it as Taiwan’s most representative international net-zero event.
In addition to TECO Electric & Machinery as the main sponsor, this year’s competition also garnered support and participation from several leading domestic enterprises, including Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd., the CHEN-YUNG Foundation, CPC Corporation, Taiwan, Sheng-Yi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Hotai Motor Group, Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd., the NTU Industry-Academia Collaboration Development Association, the NTU Advanced Research Center for Green Materials Science and Technology, and Nan Pao Resins Chemical Co., Ltd. Collectively, these organizations contributed to a total prize pool of NTD 6.5 million, underscoring their commitment to achieving the 2050 net-zero vision through tangible actions.