The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) and the Jiangsu State Grid Electric Power Company Research Institute (JSEPRI) have jointly applied for Belt and Road Initiative funding to establish a sustainable energy laboratory at KNUST, the university’s registrar said.

Mr. Benjamin Boampong Owusu said the institutions had signed a memorandum of understanding and were seeking funding for the proposed laboratory to support research, training and technology transfer.

He was speaking during a research and exchange meeting at JSEPRI in Nanjing attended by representatives of KNUST, the Hubei University of Automotive Technology (HUAT), Energon (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd. and the UNESCO Ghana Office.

Presenting the proposal, Dr. Fang Xin, Director of JSEPRI’s Distribution Technology Research Institute, said the laboratory would focus on new and sustainable energy and provide a platform for joint research, training and collaboration with industry.

Potential outputs included developing standards for new energy vehicles with the Ghana Standards Authority and other partners, he said.

Dr. Fang said the collaboration would use Chinese language training to support cultural, scientific and technological exchanges, with Ghana serving as a gateway to wider engagement in Africa.

Mr. Owusu said the proposed laboratory reflected the science and technology focus of the Confucius Institute at KNUST.

“When KNUST established Ghana’s third Confucius Institute in December 2023, in partnership with our esteemed partners at the Hubei University of Automotive Technology (HUAT), we were very clear about the kind of Institute we envisioned: one firmly rooted in language and culture, but with a distinctive science and technology character – a natural reflection of our mandate as Africa’s leading science and technology university... What we have seen here today is ample testament to the immense capacity, innovation, and ingenuity of JSEPRI. We consider you a worthy and strategic partner.”

JSEPRI Vice-President Dr. Yuan Yubo said the institute employed more than 300 staff, had undertaken major national projects and held numerous patents. He said it had also received national awards.

The delegation toured the institute’s facilities, including demonstration buildings showcasing renewable energy technologies.

UNESCO’s representative in Ghana, Mr. Edmond Moukala, welcomed the collaboration.

“By opening doors to KNUST, you are spreading technology. We are not just signing agreements but we are co-writing history,” he said.

HUAT Vice-President Prof. Wang Huaisheng said he expected the university’s partnership with KNUST to expand through cooperation with JSEPRI and Energon.

Energon founder Mr. You Zhonghai presented the company’s solar energy and direct-current technology under the concept “Lighting Up Africa with KNUST as the Hub.”

Mr. Boampong acknowledged the contributions of the Confucius Institute at KNUST, led by Prof. Ke Ningli and Prof. Daniel Y. A. Duah; the College of Engineering; the Brew-Hammond Energy Centre; and the International Programmes Office, led by Prof. Edmund Ekuadzi. He also acknowledged the JSEPRI team coordinated in Ghana by Allen You.

Other participants included Mr. Yan Liquan, Chief Supervisor of the Chinese Federation in Ghana, and Ms. Chen Baozhu, Secretary-General of the Ghana Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Chamber of Commerce and Energon’s Vice-President for Overseas Markets.

The KNUST delegation also included Dr. Owusu Acheampong, Deputy Finance Officer; Prof. Ahmed Agyapong, Provost of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Prof. Kwaku Amaning Adjei, Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Geo-Engineering; Prof. Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering; and Dr. Stella Afi Makafui Yegblemenawo, Head of the Department of Language and Communication Sciences.

Other members were Mrs. Nana Oye Woodiez, Deputy Head of KNUST Basic School; Ms. Efua Arku, Senior Assistant Registrar in the Registrar’s Office; Mrs. Evelyn Safowaa Asante, Principal Administrative Assistant; and Mr. Richard Boakye Sarkodie, Assistant Headmaster for Administration at KNUST Senior High School.