Preface
Clean and renewable energy encompasses solar，wind，biomass，geothermal，marine energy and other clean energy sources，as well as traditional energy resources developed using cleaner methods.As the consumption of traditional energy resources and the environmental pollution pressures increase，the development and utilization of clean and renewable energy have received worldwide attention.With increasingly more nations enacting policies that encourage its development，the clean and renewable energy industry has grown fast in scale and influence，becoming an important facilitator of green economic and sustainable development.China and the European Union are both major economies of the world，as well as great energy consumers.China-EU collaboration in energy sectors will play an important part in the world's sustainable growth.
China-EU Institute for Clean and Renewable Energy（ICARE），is an institute jointly initiated，established and sponsored by the Chinese government and the European Union.As a key node in China-EU energy cooperation，ICARE is a collaboration between 9 universities from 6 countries and the International Office for Water.The participating universities are China's Huazhong University of Science and Technology（HUST），Southeast University，and Wuhan University of Technology，and EU's ParisTech，National Technical University of Athens，University of Zaragoza，Northumbria University，Sapienza University of Rome，and University of Perpignan，with HUST and ParisTech functioning respectively as hosts on the Chinese and European sides.The goal of ICARE is to cultivate high quality talents in fields of clean and renewable energy to facilitate a platform for the long-term and in-depth cooperation between Chinese and European professors，experts，researchers and research institutes，and to satisfy the increasing demands for talents and technologies of clean and renewable energy promoted by economic and social development in China.In the March of 2012，ICARE started its operation with the accreditation by the Ministry of Education of China.In the following two years，100 students have graduated from ICARE with both Chinese and EU master's degrees.
The Clean and Renewable Energy Research series is a collection of outstanding master's theses in both Chinese and English languages，from the graduates of the ICARE double master's degree programme.The series consist of volumes dedicated to Solar Thermal Utilization，Energy Storage Batteries，Wind Energy，Biomass Energy，New Type Battery and Battery Material，and Energy Efficiency.Since its establishment，more than a hundred professors from China and more than sixty professors from EU have lectured and worked as supervisors for master's candidates at the institute.These articles are fruits of labor from students and their supervisors at ICARE，and represent the achievements of China-EU cooperation in the education of energy technologies.It is our hope that with the publication of the book series，ICARE graduates can be encouraged to shoulder the responsibilities of our times，realize their potential in the field of clean and renewable energy，and make their own contributions to the sustainable development of China and of the world.It is also hoped that the series can introduce the works of ICARE to the public，serving as references for educators，students，researchers and managers interested in clean and renewable energy.
We hereby wish to express our gratitude for the financial support of the Chinese government and the European Union，and for the guidance from the Ministry of Education，the Ministry of Commerce，and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China，and the Delegation of the European Union to China and Mongolia.We are grateful for the support from the CPC Hubei Provincial Committee，the People's Government of Hubei Province，the CPC Wuhan Municipal Committee，and the People's Government of Wuhan Municipality，and for the assistance of French Embassy in China and Consulate General of France in Wuhan.We appreciate the direct participation of Huazhong University of Science and Technology，ParisTech，Southeast University，Wuhan University of Technology，Sapienza University of Rome，University of Zaragoza，National Technical University of Athens，Northumbria University，University of Perpignan，and the International Office for Water.We have the same heartfelt gratitude for our colleagues at Huazhong University of Science and Technology，whose help and cooperation are indispensable for the institute's success.
Our thanks to all the professors，teachers，visiting researchers and institute staff who contributed to the courses，supervision，student interviews，examinations，operation and management of ICARE.
Last but not least，our thanks to all ICARE students for their works.
Editorial Committee
2015.2