The theme of the 2021 Hong Kong Chapter was “Synergic Development of Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship”, with 116 teams participating. The final contest was held on 18 August. Among the top 10 finalists that passed through multiple rounds of selection by expert panellists, three teams – i²Cool, Greater Bay Biotechnology, and Dayta AI – were from HK Tech 300. i²Cool was the champion and Greater Bay Biotechnology was the second runner-up. Both were awarded the HK Tech 300 Seed Fund earlier to support their start-up projects.

“CityU encourages the translation of influential research achievements into practical applications to facilitate the development of society,” said President Way Kuo of CityU. “The University is delighted to see start-up teams from HK Tech 300 shine in the contest, which demonstrates their creativity and recognition of the research technologies developed by CityU. The teams are worth supporting, as they have the courage to put their ideas into practice.”

“Since its launch in March, HK Tech 300 has been providing training, industrial networking and funding to help CityU students, alumni and young research staff transform innovative ideas into start-ups,” said Professor Yang Mengsu, CityU’s Vice President (Research and Technology). “Our start-up teams’ success in this contest have given a boost to HK Tech 300. We hope that with the full support of the university and industry, the incubated start-up teams will fly higher and farther.”

i²Cool has developed a novel, energy-free, passive radiative cooling paint for energy-saving and decarbonisation. The cooling paint does not require the use of refrigerants and is already patented in Hong Kong. Led by Dr Edwin Tso Chi-yan, Assistant Professor in CityU’s School of Energy and Environment, the high-performance paint they developed features an edge in solar reflection and thermal emissions, resulting in a significant sub-ambient cooling effect, which helps reduce energy for air-conditioning. The technology received the Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury at Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days (IGED) 2021.

The cooling paint was tested on the roof of the Innovation Hub of Tung Chung East and reduced the indoor air temperature by 5 to 6?C, leading to potential 8-10% savings in cooling energy. The team hopes that the cooling paint will help mitigate the energy shortage and climate change, while facilitating overall sustainable development and economic growth in Hong Kong.

Greater Bay Biotechnology focuses on developing innovative microneedle technologies, the most significant example of which is the cryomicroneedles (CMN) technology developed by Dr Xu Chenjie, Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at CityU. CMN will benefit patients of cell therapy, as it allows the efficient storage, transportation, and minimally invasive delivery of living cells.

The company also provides a dissolvable microneedles (dMN) drug delivery platform for controlled drug release, preservation of drug bioactivity, and precise penetration depths. dMN can be used in scar treatment, anti-obesity treatment, and cosmetic applications.

The Champion, first runner-up and second runner-up teams will represent Hong Kong in the “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest 2021 Grand Final, which will be held in a Mainland China city in mid-September. They will compete against other winners from Central and Eastern Europe, ASEAN, Japan and South Korea for support in expanding their businesses in Greater Bay Area markets. The support includes matching sessions with Mainland investors, opportunities to enter local technology parks in Mainland China, and mentorship for the transformation of technological achievements.