The Built Environment and Energy Conservation Research Group focuses on the national strategic goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Centered on the efficient and low-carbon utilization of energy, the group addresses key scientific challenges and technical bottlenecks in energy conservation across the building and industrial sectors. Through application-oriented fundamental research, key technology development, system integration, and demonstration projects, the team aims to promote advanced low-carbon energy technologies and their large-scale applications. The group also explores interdisciplinary research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and engineering thermophysics.

The group’s primary research areas include advanced refrigeration and heat pump technologies, energy-efficient technologies for data centers, zero-carbon and low-carbon building energy systems, efficient conversion and utilization of renewable energy, and high-quality preservation technologies for cold-chain logistics. Over the past ?(10) years, the team has completed more than twenty key technology research projects and developed a series of core equipment with independent intellectual property rights.

Recently, the group has achieved notable progress in several key areas. In medium-temperature chilled water air-conditioning systems, the team developed a cross-platform modeling and simulation framework and established a system-level energy consumption model covering the chiller plant, distribution network, and terminal units. Based on a genetic-algorithm-based optimization approach, the model minimizes annual system energy consumption while satisfying terminal operation requirements, enabling optimal equipment configuration and operating parameter design for office buildings in seven representative cities across China’s five major climate zones. In the field of data center cooling, the group proposed a chip-level enhanced heat transfer technology that integrares leaf-vein-inspired microchannels with jet impingement, successfully surpassing the single-chip heat dissipation limit of 2200 W. Furthermore, a compact multi-chip server configuration was developed, reducing coolant consumption by more than 30% while achieving a single-server heat dissipation capacity of 11.2 kW. This work significantly improves the efficiency and compactness of immersion liquid cooling systems.

A distinctive strength of the group lies in its capability to develop integrated solutions for energy-efficient and low-carbon energy systems. The team has established multiple large-scale demonstration projects and accumulated substantial experience in system integration and practical engineering implementation. In particular, the group has strong expertise in the integrated design, optimization, and demonstration of low-carbon energy systems.

The research group hosts several innovation platforms, including the Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Energy-Efficient Data Centers and the Guangdong Innovation and Promotion Platform for New Energy and Energy-Saving Technologies, and leads the Guangdong Green Data Center Industry Technology Innovation Alliance.

Currently, the group consists of 17 members, including 2 full professors, 3 associate professors, 4 researchers with doctoral degrees, 9 with master’s degrees, and 3 with bachelor’s degrees, forming a multidisciplinary team dedicated to advancing energy-saving technologies and supporting sustainable development.

Key Research Areas

· Energy-Efficient Cooling and Refrigeration Technologies

· Thermal Management for Electronics, Data Centers, and Energy Storage Systems

· Advanced Cold and Thermal Energy Storage Technologies

·Energy System Integration and Optimization

Core Researchers

·DONG Kaijun, Team Leader

·LUO Weimin

·LI Yuping

·SUN Qin

·ZHANG Bobo

·QIU Changyu

Key Research Platforms & Facilities

· Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center for Energy-Efficient Data Centers

· Guangdong Innovation and Promotion Platform for New Energy and Energy-Saving Technologies

· Guangdong Green Data Center Industry Technology Innovation Alliance

Facilities:

· Data Center Thermal Environment and Energy Efficiency Analysis and Testing Platform

· Battery Thermal Management Performance Testing Platform

· Cooling Performance Testing Platform for Radiative Cooling Materials

·Preparation and Performance Characterization Platform for Phase Change Composite Materials

Signature Achievements

·National Key R&D Program of China, Efficient Medium-Temperature Chilled Water Central Air-Conditioning System and Key Equipment, Dec 2023–Nov 2027, 3.8 million yuan, Principal Investigator.

· Yunxiang Cai, Qin Sun*, Xiaobin Gu, Yuping Li, Weimin Luo, Yanjun Zhang, Bobo Zhang, Gongsheng Huang, Kaijun Dong**. Multi-objective optimization of battery thermal management system based on a novel embedded hybrid cooling plate considering time-based early shutdown strategy. Energy. 2024, 312: 133419.

· Data Center Cooling Energy-Saving Demonstration Project: A low-cost cooling source preparation system demonstration project was established at the China Unicom South China (Dongguan) Data Center. The project involved a total investment of 3.8 million RMB, serving a cooling area of 15,000 m², with a thermal energy storage capacity of 9,545 RTH and a water storage tank volume of 4,150 m³. The project effectively demonstrated the energy-saving performance of a cooling system integrating thermal energy storage and natural cooling sources. Third-party testing confirmed an energy-saving rate of 20.4%, and the data center was subsequently recognized as a National Green Data Center.

·Zhang, Bobo; Dong, Kaijun; Sun, Qin; Luo, Weimin. System and Method for Comprehensive Utilization of Renewable Energy and Waste Heat of Data Center. US Patent 12,247,761 B2, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Mar. 11, 2025.

International Collaboration

The research group actively promotes international academic collaboration and exchange. It has carried out joint research with the City University of Hong Kong on the enhanced heat transfer and flow-field optimization technologies for immersion liquid cooling systems. The group also invited several international distinguished scholars to visit the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion. These activities have strengthened international scholarly communication and laid the foundation for further collaboration in the area of phase change energy storage materials, biochar-based construction materials, sustainable building technologies, and low-carbon construction. A solid foundation with the professors from the University of Newcastle, Australia and the National University of Singapore has been established. The group also maintains active academic cooperation with several universities in Malaysia, jointly exploring opportunities for intergovernmental science and technology cooperation projects.

Contact Name:Prof. DONG Kaijun

Contact Email:dongkj@ms.giec.ac.cn