On September 7, the launch ceremony for Sham Shui Po's "Green Technology Cooling Buildings" painting project was held at The Bridge+ cultural and artistic space. The launch ceremony brought together representatives from various sectors, including the government, community organizations, representatives from Hong Kong's universities, as well as volunteer teams from the corporate sector. Meanwhile, community members and residents enthusiastically joined in to witness the positive and meaningful changes that green energy-saving technology can bring to everyday life.
The Sham Shui Po Painting Project is one of the initiatives of the Cool Down for a Better Summer Project. This project aims to utilize electricity-free cooling technology to improve summer living conditions for communities in need. Notably, residents who had already benefited from the previous painting project also came to the event to share their experiences. They expressed how the application of the electricity-free cooling paint effectively met the needs of the community and delivered tangible improvements and benefits.
i2Cool Electricity-Free Cooling Technology
Green Energy-Saving Solutions Benefits More Communities
Nowadays, innovative and energy-saving cooling technologies are especially important in the context of increasingly frequent hot spells around the world. In this Sham Shui Po painting project, the new functional painting iPaint, was used to cool the rooftops of residential buildings and alleviate the heat island effect of the densely-populated residential buildings in Sham Shui Po.
After seven years of research and development, i2Cool’s electricity-free cooling technology has reached a mature stage of application, making it a convenient and effective new option for cooling. As a pioneer in this innovative field, i2Cool has benefited from Hong Kong's innovation-driven eco-system and science and technology support policies and has developed rapidly under the incubation of the CityUHK Tech300 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), and with the support of the University Grants Committee (UGC) and its subsidiary and the Research Grants Council (RGC).
Since its founding, i2Cool has rapidly grown from a two-person team (teacher and student) into an industry-academia-research team of more than 80 professionals in various fields. The company has received four rounds of financing in the past two years. The company's core products include iPaint (electricity-free cooling paint) and iFilm (electricity-free cooling film). It is accelerating the commercialization of a wide range of products such as iCeramics, iTextiles, and iPaint Auto. To date, i2Cool’s electricity-free cooling technology has been applied over a floor area exceeding 100,000 square meters, and the technology has been put into use in more than 20 countries around the world.
Sham Shui Po Receives Broad Support
Additional Projects to be Rolled Out in “Cool Down for a Better Summer” Initiative
Currently, over 210,000 residents live in sub-divided units in Hong Kong. The intense heat in summer presents considerable challenges to their lives. The Sham Shui Po Painting Project brings together the resources and strengths of various sectors of the community, focusing on the use of innovative, energy-efficient, electricity-free cooling technology, relies on community organizations and innovative public welfare platforms to address the issue of excessive heat retention in Hong Kong's densely populated residential areas during the summer months with public welfare cooling projects.
The project is jointly supported by the Sham Shui Po District Office of the Home Affairs Department and the City University of Hong Kong, co-organized by non-profit organizations such as Sham Shui Po Residents Association and Sham Ching Youth Association, and initiators of Cool Down for a Better Summer Project-Sanskrit, i2Cool, and SHERO Initiative. Volunteer services and support are provided by the Henderson Warmth Volunteer Team, Towngas Volunteer Service Team, and Hip Seng Construction Family Caring & Culture.
The project will apply innovative electricity-free cooling technology to the rooftops of three buildings on Ruzhou Street, covering approximately 420 square meters for 46 households. It is expected to produce electricity-free cooling for these residents in the hot summers, saving 7,000 kWh of energy and reducing carbon emissions by 6,000 kg, equivalent to planting 400 trees.
Cooperation Between Government, Academia, and Industry
Contributing to the Improvement of Community Environments
At the launch ceremony, the distinguished guests delivered speeches, including Mr. Paul Wong Yan-yin, JP, Sham Shui Po District Officer of the Home Affairs Department, Ir Prof. Edwin Chi-Yan TSO, Associate Dean (Internationalization and Outreach) at the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, and i2Cool Co-Founder, Mr. Samuel Chan Wai-ming, BBS, MH, JP, Director of the Sham Shui Po Residents Association, Prof. Martin Zhu, CEO & Co-founder of i2Cool, and Ms. Lareina Lau, the Secretary-General of Sanskrit and Co-founder of the SHERO Initiative. All of the speakers collectively recognized this project as a successful outcome of extensive collaboration between multiple sectors. They emphasized the spirit of cooperation among local universities, communities, enterprises, and innovative public welfare platforms. Through the utilization of innovative energy-saving cooling technology and electricity-free cooling technology, the project provides practical solutions to address the needs of residents, delivering significant improvements in their living conditions and quality of life.
Prof. Chan Chi Hou, Vice President of the City University of Hong Kong (Community Liaison and Collaboration), Prof. Kenneth Mei Yee Leung, JP, Dean of the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong, Mr. Miu Hoi Ming, Project Director of Sham Ching Youth Association, as well as representatives of the corporate volunteer team, also attended the launch ceremony. In addition, special guests Mr. Zhou Wei, Deputy Director of the Social Work Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government, and Ir Alfred Sit Wing-hang, GBS, JP, Chief Executive and Secretary of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, also attended to offer their support and encouragement.
Corporate Volunteer Teams Shared Their Experiences in Community Service
Beneficiary Residents Witnessed the Effectiveness of Cooling in Summer
During the ceremony, corporate volunteer representatives from the Henderson Warmth Volunteer Team, Towngas Volunteer Service Team, and Hip Seng Construction Family Caring & Culture shared their reflections on participating in the volunteer service efforts. They conveyed that involvement in such volunteer work is a highly meaningful way for companies to fulfill their social responsibilities. Additionally, they emphasized that contributing to the community in such a tangible manner is deeply rewarding, as it brings real, practical help to those in need.
Mr. Zhou Wei, Deputy Director of the Social Work Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government, Ir Prof. Edwin Chi-Yan TSO, Associate Dean (Internationalization and Outreach) at the School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, and i2Cool Co-Founder, and Prof. Martin Zhu, CEO & Co-founder of i2Cool, distributed i2Cool’s cooling gift packs to the representatives of Henderson Warmth Volunteer Team and the Chairman of Towngas Volunteer Service Team.
Mr. Zhou Wei, Deputy Director of the Social Work Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government, and Prof. Martin Zhu, CEO & Co-founder of i2Cool, distributed i2Cool’s cooling gift packs to the representatives of Hip Seng Construction Family Caring & Culture
Meanwhile, residents who benefited from last year's Sham Shui Po Electricity-free Cooling Paint Charity Project were also invited to the site to share their experience of the iPaint's cooling effect. They said that the cooling effect was immediately tangible in the hot summer, as the electricity-free cooling technology lowered the indoor temperature and made their living space more comfortable.
Prof. Martin Zhu, CEO & Co-founder of i2Cool, and Lareina Lau, the Secretary-General of Sanskrit and Co-founder of the SHERO Initiative, distributed i2Cool’s cooling gift packs to the beneficiary residents.
After the launch ceremony, the guests and volunteer team distributed i2Cool cooling souvenirs to 48 households in the three residential buildings involved in the painting project, expressing care and support for the residents. They also participated in a rooftop painting experience. In the future, the Cool Down for a Better Summer Project will benefit more communities with the support of the government, enterprises, academia, and the public.
Community organizations such as the Sham Shui Po District Office of the Home Affairs Department, Sham Shui Po Residents Association, and Sham Ching Youth Association have long played a key role in community services and the improvement of residents' well-being. Facing the challenge of high temperatures in the community, they have collaborated with the academic sector to launch the Sham Shui Po Heat Risk Index and organize science talks to spread scientific knowledge about heat prevention. Meanwhile, they have implemented several targeted community services to help residents improve their quality of life and ease their financial burden through collaboration with the business sector.
A year ago, i2Cool joined hands with the Sham Shui Po District Office of the Home Affairs Department, charity organizations, and community organs to apply iP、aint, an electricity-free cooling paint, for the public welfare of several residential buildings in Sham Shui Po to address the challenge of high temperature in summer in Hong Kong. After the application, the temperature of the rooftop surfaces dropped by up to 32°C, lowering the indoor temperatures of the rooftop residents and saving hundreds of Hong Kong Dollars in electricity expenses for the residents every month.
The Sham Shui Po Painting, as a project under the Cool Down for a Better Summer Project in Hong Kong, has gained more attention and support than ever before.
In the future, the Cool Down for a Better Summer Project will continue, and we will join hands with community organizations so that more people can benefit from the new energy-saving technology.
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