SHENZHEN, China, March 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) recently announced that Professor Edwin Tso Chi-Yan, Associate Dean (Internationalization and Outreach) of the School of Energy and Environment and co-founder of i2Cool Limited, will be promoted to Chair Professor of Energy and Sustainability in July this year. This academic honor not only highlights Professor Tso’s outstanding achievements in building energy efficiency and green technology but also reflects his high recognition in the international academic community.
To date, the electricity-free cooling technology developed by Professor Tso’s research team at i2Cool has been commercialized and deployed in over 30 cities and regions worldwide, with more than 500 completed projects.
01 Academic Excellence: Recognizing Technological Contributions
In 2025, Professor Tso was elected as a Member of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences and awarded the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars in recognition of his exceptional contributions to scientific innovation and technology commercialization. In 2024, he received the Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award from the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences and was elected as a Young Fellow of the Academy. The same year, he was appointed as a Research Fellow by the Research Grants Council (RGC), affirming his academic leadership in building energy technologies.
This recognition is no coincidence. Since 2020, Professor Tso has been consistently listed among Stanford University’s “World’s Top 2% Scientists.”
His academic influence is evident not only in honors but also in tangible research outcomes. Professor Tso has published over 100 papers in leading international journals, including Science, Nature Sustainability, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. Notably, his groundbreaking research on cooling ceramics was published in Science in 2023, drawing significant international attention.
Beyond academia, Professor Tso has filed nearly 20 patents, successfully translating these innovative technologies into commercially viable products.
02 Research Breakthroughs: From Nature-Inspired Discoveries to Industrial Innovation
Professor Tso’s research team drew key inspiration from the Saharan silver ant, whose unique hair structures enable exceptional solar reflectivity and mid-infrared emissivity, allowing it to survive extreme desert heat. Inspired by this, the team integrated materials science, optics, and thermodynamics to develop multi-component, multi-scale nanoparticle materials capable of efficiently reflecting solar radiation in the 0.25–2.5 μm range while emitting thermal radiation within the 8–13 μm atmospheric window.
The core of Passive Radiative Cooling (PRC) technology lies in leveraging high solar reflectance and mid-infrared emissivity to reflect sunlight and radiate heat into outer space, facilitating natural cooling of surfaces without electricity or refrigerants. This represents a genuinely zero-energy cooling solution.
03 i2Cool: Translating Research into Global Impact
In 2015, when Professor Tso began studying the cooling mechanism of the silver ant, it was difficult to foresee that this discovery would lead to a climate-tech enterprise contributing to global decarbonization. In 2021, under CityUHK’s HK Tech 300 innovation and entrepreneurship program, Professor Tso co-founded i2Cool Limited with Dr. Martin Zhu.
The company’s first commercialized product, the electricity-free cooling coating (i2Coating), achieves up to 95% solar reflectivity and high mid-infrared emissivity, surpassing traditional thermal insulation coatings that struggle to exceed 90% solar reflectance. i2Coating was officially launched in September 2022 for building applications, delivering sub-ambient cooling performance through effective solar reflection and thermal radiation.
04 Global Deployment: Technology Implementation and Measurable Impact
To date, i2Cool’s passive radiative cooling technology has been deployed in over 30 countries and regions, covering more than 800,000 square meters worldwide across over 500 projects. The company’s products have saved nearly 16 million kWh of electricity and reduced carbon emissions by over 15 million kilograms.
The technology’s application range continues to expand. In addition to the initial i2Coating, i2Cool has developed electricity-free cooling products such as i2Membrane and i2Film, addressing overheating challenges in rooftops and glass façades. The technology is being implemented in notable projects, including Dubai Mall, Hong Kong Coliseum, and volunteer stations for the 15th National Games of China.
05 Future Outlook: Leading Research and Industry Transformation
With Professor Tso’s promotion to Chair Professor of Energy and Sustainability, he will lead further explorations in electricity-free cooling technologies as a senior scholar in the School of Energy and Environment. Supported by Hong Kong’s Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus (RAISe+) scheme, i2Cool is developing three next-generation materials: Passive Radiative Cooling Ceramics (PRCCs), Passive Radiative Cooling Pavement materials (PRCP), and Biodegradable Dual-Mode Thermal Management Textiles (Bio-DTMTs). These innovations aim to provide comprehensive electricity-free cooling solutions for buildings, roads, and personal thermal management.
i2Cool’s long-term vision is to establish a complete electricity-free cooling ecosystem centered on advanced material science and diversified commercial applications. In the context of global “dual carbon” goals, the company aims to leverage cutting-edge innovation to contribute meaningfully to energy efficiency and carbon reduction worldwide
CONTACT: i2Cool Limited, [email protected]
SOURCE i2Cool Limited
