From October 8 to 10,2025, the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIEC), served as a co-host for the 8th Global Sustainable Technology & Innovation Community (G-STIC) Conference held in South Africa. During the conference, Director General Prof. Lyu Jiancheng led a delegation to visit the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and the University of Pretoria. The delegation engaged in academic exchanges on renewable energy, low-carbon development, and resource efficiency, jointly exploring opportunities for scientific innovation and collaboration.

The delegation visited the CSIR SMART Places research cluster. Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on their respective research priorities and strengths, preliminarily identifying multiple areas with potential for collaboration. These include high-value waste utilization, data center cooling, green hydrogen production and application, carbon labeling, new energy materials, thermochemical energy storage technology, sustainable biofuels, and sustainable port development. During high-level talks with Dr. Thulani Dlamini, CEO of  CSIR, both sides agreed to maintain close communication and advance substantive cooperation, including personnel exchanges and joint research initiatives.

Subsequently, the delegation visited the University of Pretoria, where they toured laboratories specializing in power electronics and the just energy transition, accompanied by Associate Professor Ye Xianming from the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment, and Information Technology. Both parties engaged in in-depth discussions on shared research priorities, including low-carbon energy strategies and renewable energy technology assessment, laying a solid foundation for future collaboration.

During the visit, the delegation also made a special trip to the Chinese Embassy in South Africa to gain a comprehensive understanding of South Africa's science and technology innovation landscape. They briefed the embassy on the institute's progress in China-South Africa cooperation and outlined its next steps. The embassy acknowledged the institute's achievements in advancing Sino-South African scientific collaboration and offered constructive suggestions for future cooperation.

This visit to South Africa has further expanded the strategic partnership between the institute and South Africa's leading scientific research and educational institutions, injecting new momentum into China-Africa scientific and technological cooperation in the field of sustainable development.

The GIEC delegation held technical discussions with experts from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

The GIEC delegation visited the CSlR's photovoltaic (PV) module quality and reliability testing laboratory.

Director General Prof. Lyu Jiancheng held high-level talks with Dr. Thulani Dlamini, Chief Executive Officer of CSIR.