Introduction
On January 24, 2024, NEXCEL convened Project Inception Meeting in Beijing. More than 40 participants, including members of NEXCEL Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), project Principal Investigators (PIs) and key team members, representatives from Aramco Asia and CBMA, attended the meeting. The Meeting was chaired by Dr. Li Juan, Program Director of NEXCEL.
NEXCEL Program Fund is aiming to pooling excellent resources to provide more sustainable solutions through technology development and standard leadership. Last July, NEXCEL released 2024 Program Guideline and Ph.D Scholarship Program. The program received widespread attention and participation from both within and outside the industry. Outstanding teams from different countries and regions such as Hong Kong, France, and Finland participated in the application process, leading to intense competition. NEXCEL organized technical reviews by the Review Panel composed of Chinese and Aramco experts, and finally selected 9 outstanding teams and 10 Ph.D students.
During the meeting, the PIs presented respectively on the detailed technical approach and research plan.
The expert panel, composed of Prof. Yao Yan, Chairlady of TAC, Prof. Huang Songchang from Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport, Prof. Xu Shifa from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Mr. Han Jixian, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of the China Insulation & Energy Efficiency Materials Association (CIEEMA), Prof. Li Rong from Central Research Institute of Building and Construction, Prof. Liu Xiaogang from University of Science and Technology Beijing, Prof. Ai Mingxing from China Academy of Building Research and Mr. Ke Te, Lead Engineer of Aramco Asia, fully affirmed the innovation and feasibility of projects, and put forward specific suggestions on the project implementation.
In conclusion, Prof. Yao Yan expressed that the inception meeting marks the commencement of the research and development phase of the projects. With a tight schedule and heavy tasks, Prof. Yao required the project teams to follow NEXCEL's project management regulations, and organize the project activities in close cooperation with other project partners. Based on completing the KPIs listed in the project contract, they are expected to achieve more outstanding research results that will play a leading role in driving NM innovation.
The successful launching of these projects sets a solid foundation and provides clear guidance for future work. It is hoped that each project team will thoroughly summarize and integrate the expert comments and recommendations, delivering a satisfying result through profound academic knowledge, scientific research methods, and a broad international perspective, thereby producing a series of world-class achievements.