On October 30th, the China-French Carbon Neutrality Forum was successfully held at the Huanghe State Guesthouse of Henan. The forum was co-chaired by Academician Zhang Suojiang, President of Henan University (HENU), Academician Liu Jiongtian from Zhengzhou University, and Professor Guo-Hua Hu from the University of Lorraine, France. Among the French experts invited to the forum were Academicians Pierre Toulhoat, Isabelle Moretti, Patrick Maestro, Jean-Pierre Chevalier, Alain Marty, and Guo-Hua Hu; while the Chinese experts included Academicians He Jilin, Xu Chunming, Zhang Pingxiang, Zhao Zhongwei, and Zhu Weihong. Nearly 140 representatives from relevant colleges and functional departments of HENU, along with faculty and student representatives, attended the forum.

Zhang Suojiang extended a warm welcome and gratitude to all attendees. He introduced the 112-year history of HENU and elaborated on the reasons and background for hosting this forum. He pointed out that thanks to the joint efforts and preparations by both Chinese and French sides over the past year, the forum was successfully organized. This holds significant importance for deepening cooperation between the two parties under the strategic context of carbon neutrality. Professor Liu Chuntai from Zhengzhou University and Academician Pierre Toulhoat from the National Academy of Technologies of France each delivered speeches. Liu Chuntai shared the history and current development of Zhengzhou University, highlighting the advantages of cooperation between China and France in the field of carbon neutrality. He expressed hope that through this forum, innovative thinking could be sparked with French colleagues, thereby fostering collaboration and collectively advancing the carbon neutrality strategy. Academician Pierre Toulhoat believed that the forum would profoundly impact the National Academy of Technologies of France and looked forward to deep collaboration with peers and talented Chinese youth to explore new directions and opportunities in technological development.

The forum, themed “Challenges and Opportunities in Chemical Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials under the Dual Carbon Context”, featured nine engaging keynote speeches. Experts at the event focused on cutting-edge technologies and development trends in the fields of chemical engineering, metallurgy, and materials against the backdrop of dual carbon goals. Discussions revolved around clean energy, low-carbon technologies, functional materials, bio-chemical engineering, and more, addressing the opportunities and challenges faced by industry in achieving green, low-carbon, and high-quality development. The forum explored scientific pathways to promote energy transformation and green transition. Moreover, this forum served as an academic exchange platform for top scholars from China and France, fostering scientific innovation and intellectual exchange, offering new strategies and methods to address carbon neutrality issues.

At the conclusion of the forum, Zhang Suojiang summarized that the meeting was highly successful and expressed gratitude for the active contributions of participants from both China and France. Additionally, he emphasized that carbon neutrality would lead to significant transformations in energy and multiple industries, and highlighted that technological innovation is the key challenge and opportunity to achieve this goal. This forum facilitated academic exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and French experts, reaching important consensus and laying a foundation for collaboration in the field of carbon neutrality. Meanwhile, he expressed hope that both sides would strengthen cooperation in the future to jointly promote development under the carbon neutrality strategy.

On October 31st, the day following the forum, the experts visited HENU Longzihu campus in Zhengzhou and its laboratories, and discussed matters pertaining to scientific research collaboration.