Published : 08/11/2023
"Cars once transformed the world, and you are set to transform the car. Today, the tracks of Chinese-made vehicles span the globe. You are the pioneer, you are the navigator."
This is the award citation for the Touching China Person of the Year, it speaks of the "Father of Asian Electric Vehicles", scientist Chan Ching-chuen from Hong Kong.
Chan Ching-chuen's childhood dream: Can cars not emit smoke?
The connection between Chan Ching-chuen (陳清泉) and electric vehicles (EVs) can be traced back to his childhood.
In 1937, Chan Ching-chuen was born into a wealthy overseas Chinese family with ancestral roots in China's Fujian, in the city of Magelang, Indonesia.
His father ran a bus business, and whenever the company bought a new vehicle, he would scramble to "test drive" it, fascinated by the new styles and performance of cars.
But when he went to the repair shop, Chan would feel that cars had "become ugly". "The mechanics were covered in grease and oil, and I thought, can't beautiful cars be smokeless?"
After completing primary school, Chan Ching-chuen transferred to Pa Chung Middle School in Jakarta to study. At this overseas Chinese school, he laid a solid academic foundation, and read newspapers with other overseas Chinese students to learn about the situation in China.
Chan Ching-chuen returned to China and settled in HK in 1970s
With the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, Chan Ching-chuen felt incredibly excited. He decided to give up the opportunity to study in the UK and return to his motherland to pursue his studies.
"Our experiences in Indonesia taught us overseas Chinese to be patriotic from a young age, and our personal destinies are linked to our motherland. Only when the motherland is strong can overseas Chinese be secure," he said.
In 1953, the 16-year-old Chan Ching-chuen, after some twists and turns, returned to China and was admitted to the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the Beijing Institute of Mining and Technology (now the China University of Mining and Technology).
The curriculum included a section on "mine electric locomotive traction", which is about mine locomotives driven by battery-powered motors. This gave him a lot of inspiration.
After graduation, Chan stayed at the institute to work, lecturing on electrical machinery, and immersed himself in research.
He later went to Tsinghua University for postgraduate studies. At this time, his main focus was on vehicles that ran on mine tracks, but the subject of electric propulsion had already deeply fascinated him.
Afterwards, Chan Ching-chuen was seconded to the Ministry of Coal Industry, and was later transferred to work at an electric motor factory in Shanghai. In 1976, he went south to Hong Kong to reunite with his parents, who had already moved there.
Joining HKU, Chan Ching-chuen turned his attention to EVs
In the 1960s, a bloody anti-Chinese movement broke out in Indonesia, forcing a large number of overseas Chinese to flee. Many of them eventually made their way to Hong Kong and settled down.
When he first arrived in Hong Kong, Chan Ching-chuen started working at an electric power company on the recommendation of a classmate, but what he really wanted was to do research.
To this end, he applied for a lectureship at the Polytechnic, while simultaneously pursuing a doctoral programme at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
In 1982, after graduating with his PhD, he stayed on at HKU's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, where he subsequently held positions such as Chair Professor and Head of Department.
Shortly after beginning his teaching career at the HKU, Chan made electric vehicles his research focus, which was precisely the "beautiful, smokeless car" he had imagined as a child.
In fact, after the mid-1970s oil crisis, people turned their attention to cars using alternative energy sources. EVs, which had a brief-lived appearance in the early 20th century, once again entered the public eye.
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Father of Asian EVs, Chan Ching-chuen laid theoretical foundation
Through extensive research, Chan Ching-chuen boldly proposed replacing the widely used direct current (DC) motors in earlier electric vehicles with induction motors and permanent magnet motors as the driving force.
He led his team to successively develop nine different types of electric cars and electric bicycles, among which the electric car HKU2001, which debuted in the early 1990s, attracted global attention.
This electric car had a reliable power electronic control system, used high-energy batteries and an intelligent energy management system, and could travel 160 kilometres on a single charge. Its relevant indicators were among the world's most advanced at the time.
Chan published many papers in international academic journals. He proposed the organic integration of automotive technology, electric motor technology, electric drive technology, power electronics technology, and modern control theory, laying the foundation for modern EV research.
In 1988, Chan Ching-chuen took the lead in establishing the World Electric Vehicle Association and served as its rotating chairman. He is recognised as one of the world's three leading authorities on EVs, hailed as the "Father of Asian Electric Vehicles" and the "Ancestor of Electric Vehicle Technology".
Chan Ching-chuen became first HK academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
In the direction of the automotive revolution, he also forward-lookingly believed that EVs are not just a means of transport, but also a carrier of energy, a carrier of information, and a terminal for intelligent systems.
In addition to his research, Chan Ching-chuen has always kept his motherland in his heart. For many years, he has travelled between the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, striving to play a "bridging" role between the government, academia, and industry.
Through innovations in core technologies such as batteries and electronic control systems, he has spearheaded the development of EVs in China.
In 1997, Hong Kong returned to the motherland. In that same year, Chan Ching-chuen became the first scholar in Hong Kong to be elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).
At that time, he predicted that China would become the kingdom of electric vehicles; today, China's production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) have ranked 1st in the world for many consecutive years.
Chan Ching-chuen was selected as one of 10 Touching China figures
In March 2023, 86-year-old Chan Ching-chuen was selected as one of the annual top 10 figures of Touching China.
The award citation said, "Cars once transformed the world, and you are set to transform the car. Today, the tracks of Chinese-made vehicles span the globe. You are the pioneer, you are the navigator. You have been galloping on the new energy track for more than 40 years. Now, you and your motherland are overtaking."
"I have won many major international awards, but this award is of special significance. I am deeply honoured, and it is also an encouragement, reminding me to seize every minute and to remain vigorous in old age," said Chan Ching-chuen, who is still active on the front line of scientific research.
He also expressed his hope to see with his own eyes in his lifetime, that not only cars, but also ships, high-speed trains, and aeroplanes in his motherland are all electric.