NEXCEL Convened the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting

Time: 2024/01/12 Publisher： oiginal Views：

Introduction

NEXCEL convened its Fifth Steering Committee (SC) Meeting on January 10, 2024, which was conducted both in person and virtually. Sincere thanks are given to esteemed SC members for their participation: Mr. Waleed Al-Otaibi, Director of Aramco IIP Transaction Development, Mr. Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Manager of Aramco Technology Management, Mr. Hussain Albinali, Manager of Nonmetallic Engineering, Mr. Hou Diyang, CEO of China Building Materials Academy (CBMA), and Dr. Qiu Yan, Director of CBMA Science and Technology. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Waleed Al-Otaibi, Chairman of NEXCEL Steering Committee. During the meeting, the SC members had a comprehensive review of the 2023 Annual Report and 2024 Business Plan, especially the recommended list of 2024 proposals, which had been recommended by the TAC Task Force and consisted of a total of 22 projects.

Dr. Li Juan, Program Director of NEXCEL debriefed the NEXCEL activities in 2023, which focused on the major progress and outcomes of innovation projects, capacity building and advocacy in nonmetallic deployment.

2024 Program Guideline release and Project Proposal assessment

NEXCEL released the 2024 Program Guideline and collected Project Proposals worldwide. Several rounds of technical review was organized and finally 22 outstanding teams and Ph.D students are selected to undertake the funded projects.

Remarkable project outcomes

NEXCEL has continuously funded 31 projects, leading to remarkable outcomes, including 21 papers, 14 patents, 4 standards, and 12 demonstration projects, which have been successfully demonstrated in various engineering projects in China and other countries covering civil buildings, telecommunications, roads, railways, and bridges.

Sustainable Future

Aligned with 'Saudi Vision 2030' and China's 'Dual Carbon' strategy, NEXCEL is pioneering new solutions in reducing global emissions. The warm-mix asphalt technology results in over 50% reduction of carbon emissions and over 80% reduction of toxic gas emissions; The adoption of FRP materials instead of steel for lattice tower has led to over 43% reduction in carbon emissions; To use CO2 and desulfurized petrol coke residue to prepare cementitious materials has utilized over 10% carbon emission.

Advocacy and capacity building

NEXCEL has organized and participated in 28 forums and conferences, attracting a remarkable total of 31,000 participants for exchanges and interactions. NEXCEL published 110 articles with 80,000 views, and further aroused the awareness of civil engineers to encourage the deployment of sustainable nonmetallic materials.

Outreach and Partnership

NEXCEL established a wide network with academic and industry partners, with a shared commitment in addressing the challenges of energy transformation and material upgrades.

Mr. Hou Diyang spoke highly of the achievements of NEXCEL in 2023. He pointed out that the policy of EU’s Carbon Border Tax will greatly facilitate the substitution of steel with FRP composites, which brings immense opportunity for composite materials. He emphasized that NEXCEL shall not only focus on the research and innovation on non-metallic materials, but also prioritize its large-scale engineering application in a global scale.

Mr. Waleed Al-Otaibi seconded Mr. Hou's comments. He emphasized that NEXCEL need to continuously devote substantial efforts and resources towards the application of nonmetallic materials, strengthening collaboration with industry partners, driving the large-scale engineering application on a global scale, and bringing innovative solutions for the building and construction sectors. At Last, on behalf of the Steering Committee, Mr. Waleed expressed gratitude to all partners, TAC members and SC members for their strong support to NEXCEL operation.

The meeting witnessed an exceptional exchange of ideas among the SC members, each member contributing their unique perspectives to achieve the NEXCEL's vison and mission of promoting nonmetallic materials in the Building and Construction (B&C) sector. Finally, SC members discussed and approved the ‘Recommended List of Proposals for 2024 Program’, the evaluation of KPIs for NEXCEL operation, and the 2024 business plan. NEXCEL performance in 2023 achieved an excellent rating.

In 2024, NEXCEL will keep up the work and go forward to fulfill its commitment to a responsible nonmetallic deployment and a tangible response to global sustainable goals.