Invited Speaker of Session: S3c Hydrogen Production

Hansong Cheng

Short Biography

Professor Hansong Cheng received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from Princeton University in 1991 and subsequently joined Air Products and Chemicals, Inc, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as a senior scientist. In 2004, he became one of the founding members of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence and served as a member of its Steering Committee. In recognizing the outstanding contribution to the DOE hydrogen program, his team received 2010 DOE Hydrogen Program Special Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2009, he was selected by the Chinese government to be inducted into the “National 1000 Talents Plan” program and became a professor of chemistry at China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). In 2013, he co-founded a multimillion dollar start-up company Integrated Power System, in Hangzhou, China, to commercialize the energy technologies developed in his lab and serves as the CTO of the company. In 2014, Prof. Cheng co-founded another start-up, Hynertech Co., Ltd. in Suzhou, China, to commercialize the hydrogen technologies based on the concept of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) he had developed since early 2000. In 2017, Hynertech was relocated to Wuhan, Hubei province, at the invitation of the city government. Prof. Cheng serves as the Chairman of the Board and the CTO of the company. He still plays an active role as a technology consultant for chemical industry with clients around world.

Prof. Cheng’s main research interest lies in the area of molecular modeling and materials design using first principles simulations and experimental development of novel materials for applications in gas storage and separation, battery electrolytes, proton exchange fuel cells and transparent conductive thin films. He is an author of over 300 peer-reviewed publications and an inventor of over 150 patents and patent applications. In 2017, Prof. Cheng was elected to become the inaugural President of Hydrogen Industry Technology Innovation and Application Alliance of China.