With the support of National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the International Symposium on Sustainable Energy organized by the Asia 3 Foresight Program was held in the Green Energy Laboratory (GEL) of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on 4th May, 2014.

Presented at the symposium were JI Jun, director of the Division III of Engineering and Materials Science affiliate to NSFC, SJTU professor ZHENG Ping, CAS academicians, professor Kiyoshi Saito from Waseda University, professor YongTae Kang from Korea University, professor Yasuyuki Takata from Kyushu University, professor ZHANG Xing from Tsinghua university, professor CHEN Guangming and professor ZHANG Xuejun from Zhejiang University. Also presented were some teachers and students from School of Mechanical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute of SJTU.

JI Jun delivered an opening speech and expressed his best wishes for the success of the symposium. Professor WANG Ruzhu, organizer and program coordinator for the A3 Program, reported the overall implementation of the aforementioned program and then introduced the development and practical application for the small scale solar-powered absorbing refrigeration system. Experts reported their latest research achievements in relevant fields, including the storage features of carbon dioxide hydrate, the new air source heat pump cycle, etc. All these topics brought about broad interests and actively discussion among participators.

After the symposium, leaders and experts presented also paid a visit to the Green Energy laboratory. They affirmed the achievements accomplished by SJTU on the usage of renewable energy sources, particularly in solar energy. 
This symposium has promoted the international research cooperation among universities and also provided a good platform for researchers of related fields.

About the A3 Program
Asia 3 Foresight Program, short for A3 Program, is jointly set up by National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF, originally Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, or abbreviated as KOSEF). 

Asia 3 Foresight Program support scientists in China, Japan and Korea to conduct first class cooperative research in selected strategic areas and, through implementation of the program, foster outstanding S&T talent and solve jointly regional problems, and make Asia an influential science research center in the world.

The aim of this project is to build a collaboration network among researches of complex transition metal oxides in Japan, China and Korea; with this network, we may explore new phenomena and new functions of the oxide materials, we may characterize the samples with the best technique, and possibly we may reach understanding of the mechanisms of the novel properties, via vital exchange of information, research collaborations and sharing of the best specimen of the materials. Prof. WANG Ruzhu got the sponsorship from NSFC in 2009 and conducted his research on the technology of solar air conditioners and heat pumps.