Yi-Chun LU

Yi-Chun Lu is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She received her B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, in 2007 and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012. She joined CUHK in 2013. Prof. Lu is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Founding Member of the Young Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong. She has received the Tajima Prize (2024), the Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award (2023), and the Xplorer Prize (2021), etc.

The widespread adoption of renewable energy is hindered by the flammability of lithium-ion batteries and the high cost of vanadium flow batteries. Prof. Lu’s pioneering work in safe, sustainable aqueous batteries offers a transformative solution. By utilizing earth-abundant materials, she has developed low-cost, eco-friendly alternatives that accelerate global decarbonization. Her key breakthroughs include "molecular crowding" electrolytes that safely double cell voltage, charge-reinforced ion-selective membranes that eliminate crossover, and isoalloxazine-based catalysts that significantly enhance reaction kinetics. These innovations have rendered polysulfide, an active material 1,000 times cheaper than vanadium, highly viable, leading to the development of the world’s first stable, high-power polysulfide flow battery.

She co-founded Luquos Energy Ltd., which demonstrated the world’s first commercial grid-connected polysulfide redox flow battery system in 2024. Her interdisciplinary leadership at the nexus of materials science, chemistry, and engineering exemplifies high-impact translational research with profound academic and societal benefits.