Joint Sino-British research project on electrical grids and EVs announced

Britain's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will cooperate with the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation to conduct joint research on smart electrical grids and electric vehicles, the Science and Technology Daily reported today.

According to the agreement, the NSFC and the EPSRC and will each invest up to four million pounds ($6.28m) in the research project, which will cover four key areas and last from 2013 to 2016. Experts from both China and the UK will participate in the project, whose aim is to promote the development of smart grids and EVs.

Including this project, the EPSRC and its Chinese partners have invested over 24 million pounds ($37.71m) in joint projects over the years. These projects have played and continue to play a major role in fostering technological exchange and communication between China and the UK. This specific project will play an important role in promoting development of the EV industry. Commenting on the project, Ding Lijian, Director of the Electrical Engineering Division at the NSFC's Department of Engineering and Materials Sciences, confidently stated that it "will greatly help advance the development of smart grids in [our] two countries."