This is the personal statement I wrote, when I applied for MSc in Sustainable Energy - Energy System Analysis at Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Having studied almost all aspects of energy system and gained much practical experience, I discover my enthusiasm for design, simulation and optimization of energy processes and systems. It’s with this aim that I am applying for MSc in Sustainable Energy Program at Technical University of Denmark, focusing on Energy System Analysis.

Today’s urgent and complex global environmental and energy issues invited me to the study of sustainable energy. To obtain insight into the current and future energy technology, I had several visits on different types of power plants and factories, like traditional power plant, new gas-fired combined cooling-heating-power plant, solar power plant with farming, etc. And I completed many internships and practices, concerning measurement, operation and maintenance. However, I found the challenges can’t be solved solely by discrete technologies. For example, subsidy fraud in the electric vehicle industry forced government to change the policy. Untrammeled construction of wind and solar energy caused ecological damage and curtailment.

Therefore, I knew it was important to adopt a diverse portfolio of technologies, methods and ideas. I got in touch with knowledge from management, engineering economics, science communication, psychology, and so on. I took part in educational travels to Italy, Germany and Hong Kong. And I applied to be an exchange student in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and a visiting student in UW-Madison. Harmonies among environment, energy and economy deserve our attention. Bosco Verticale in Italy saved energy by utilizing plant transpiration for indoor refrigeration. Germany companies installed solar cells on rooftop instead of precious land by signing lease contracts. I found the solution for traffic jam and pollution, that MTR Subway Corporation in Hong Kong combined commerce and public transportation together to build an underground city. It set an example for de-carbonization and enriching community life in cities. Comparing the waste incineration in Chongqing and Taiwan, I figured out a fully-fledged waste sorting system rather than the state-of-art combustion technology was the key factor.

Furthermore, this fast-changing field requires more than immersing in books and passing the exams. So, I learnt to do the design calculation and check calculation with Mathematica and MATLAB. I tried to model all the inter-related knowledge with semantic networks and info-graphs. I learnt to compile expert system, standard operating procedure and personal qualification standard, which proven to be essential in cooperative settings. This learning methodology, technology-enhanced learning by modeling, has helped me a lot.

Innovation can always be made to tackle tough problems. For example, I didn’t understand why biogas failed in China in 1970s and made a comeback with the help of PCDM in Koyoto Protocol, until I finished the fieldwork in Chengdu to investigate Sichuan Rural Poor-Household Biogas Development PoA. Because accumulation of carbon emission reduction allowed profit from international carbon market. In addition, I signed up for experiment in Energy and Power Virtual Simulation Center, Chongqing University. Integrating knowledge from solar cell, wind turbine and micro-turbine, I managed to develop a distributed generation system based on hydrogen production and fuel cell with Simulink. This project needed not only basic principles of various technologies, but also automatic control and operational research for system integration.

When being devoted to renewable energy research, I sought to develop myself through various extra-curricular activities as well. As the captain, I led color guard of marching brass band of Chongqing University to win the second prize in a national competition. Besides, I joined Learning Department, Student Union and Association of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction to help accelerate and communicate innovation. Thanks to these experiences, I have honed my leadership, communication, cooperation and crisis management abilities.

In regard for my future study and research, I’d like to focus on energy balance and GHG balance of various and sundry energy processes and systems, and learn to simulate and optimize. I have taken many courses for energy system analysis career and mastered some analysis skills. After studied exergy analysis, I applied pinch analysis to the design and optimization of distributed energy systems and industrial chemical processes to increase efficiency by limiting heat transfer exergy losses. Draw parameters from Hydrogen and Advanced Energy Power System and Fuel Cell, I compared hydrogen and electric vehicles through well-to-wheel analysis. However, to advance my knowledge in a more systematic way and perform more hand-on practice and research, I need further study and practice. For instance, I haven’t been fully conversant with multi-variable optimization, yet. Moreover, I plan to set thermo-chemical conversion of biomass as my main study and research subjects. Based on this, I can design, construct and evaluate distributed energy systems to provide clean, sustainable and affordable energy for people in under-developed areas. Motivated by the current condition that there are huge number of harming and polluting biomass stoves other than stable electricity and fuel in China and other developing countries, I’m willing to confront these challenges as soon as possible. And when I attended 2017 US-China Green Energy Summit, Daniel Kammen, the famous professor in energy analysis at University of California, Berkeley, supported my intention, and he said that scientific and technical transformations were critical to enabling a sustainable energy system, but it was social and policy innovation that provided the killer app for innovation and change. It is system development pattern that makes me eager to further my study and research in these fields.

This program is an ideal choice for me. DTU is research-based university, which occupies a prominent international position in research and education for sustainable development. What also makes DTU so attractive is its emphasis on creation, as well as its friendly and supportive atmosphere. And Denmark is especially known for distributed energy system and biomass utilization. I will do my best to pursue an amazing learning experience in your university.