The 3rd Mission Innovation Smart Grids Workshop was held in Malmo and Copenhagen from May 20 to 22, 2018. Government officials who attended the workshop and gave speeches included Li Meng, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of China, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences of India, Kristoffer Böttzauw, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, Frank Des Rosiers, Assistant Deputy Minister of the Canadian Department of Natural Resources, Stefano Queirolo Palmas, Italian Ambassador to Denmark, and Rémy Kolessar, head of Research and Innovation Department at Swedish Energy Agency.   

In his address, Vice Minister Li Meng gave an in-depth analysis of the historic opportunities and challenges regarding the global clean energy transition and then expounding the “energy revolution” concept put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping, especially its emphasis on comprehensively strengthening international cooperation. Stating that China has the world’s largest smart grid market and a steadily growing renewable market, he highlighted China’s commitment to promoting international cooperation in smart grids and spoke highly of the Smart Grid Innovation Challenge for its tireless efforts over the last two years. China’s actions and achievements in smart grids and renewable electricity generation innovation have been widely followed and recognized, with countries such as Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Israel proposing bilateral or multilateral cooperation with China, showing the increasing influence of China in the Mission Innovation global initiative.

As an important side event of the Ninth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM9) and the Third Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-3), the workshop was co-sponsored by the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Swedish Energy Agency, the Danish Partnership for Smart Energy Networks, the Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico (RSE) of Italy and the Ministry of Science and Technology of India and attended by representatives of 11 countries including China, Australia, India, Italy, Britain and the United States, and relevant international organizations such as the World Economic Forum, the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency, and internationally known research institutes and companies. The workshop yielded a series of outcomes, including the release of the “Oresund Strait Joint Statement and Recommendations” and the official launch of six task forces including storage systems, requirement response, regional electricity expressway, flexible resources, new grid control architecture, and electricity and electronics. At the meeting, copies of the first publication of the working group, Smart Grids Innovation Challenge Country Report 2017: STEP, prepared under the lead of the Chinese side, were presented to ministerial representatives. The report includes 14 national smart grids and renewable energy markets, policies and technologies and relevant national science and technology programs.  

The Smart Grid Innovation Challenge is the first challenge under the MI mechanism, with experts from IEE, RSE and the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology serving as co-leads and members coming from 20 countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, the US and the EU. Its mission is to advance smart grids innovation geared to a high proportion of renewable energies and promote the doubling of governmental investments in clean energy R&D and private sector engagement in R&D investments.