The Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory for collaboration on the technology of photovoltaic electricity generation.

According to the MOU signed by Xiao Liye, director-general of IEE, and Dan E. Arvizu, director of NREL, the parties will work together to build an internationally recognized photovoltaic battery and component testing center at the IEE in China. In addition, they will work to enhance mutual visits by scientists, share information and hold various technology exchanges.

Jiang Mianheng, vice president of CAS, said that the signing of the MOU represents a great headway in energy cooperation between CAS and NREL and he expects that more extensive cooperation can be reached between the parties, especially on solar energy.

IEE is a research institute specializing on electrical engineering. In recent years, IEE has conducted a lot of pioneering research on electrical technology, modern electric vehicle technology, applicable superconductor technology, and bio-medical engineering. It has developed much strategic technology that has helped a great deal in advancing the technology of the relevant industries.

NREL is a national laboratory belonging to the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and is engaged in renewable energy research and promoting applications promotion. NREL mainly specializes in such renewable energy fields as solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, hydrogen fuel, and fuel cells.