The 9th Session of International SOLARIS Conference (SOLARIS 2018), co-sponsored by Sichuan University and Nottingham University, was held in Chengdu during August 29-30, 2018. More than 150 experts, business representatives and foreign students from China, Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, Cyprus, Israel, India, Japan, Italy and Poland attended the meeting. After 15 years of development, SOLARIS has become one of the most important events in the field of solar energy. This is the first time it was staged in mainland China.

Vice-President Liang Bin of Sichuan University, Vice-President Chen Xuehua of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Department and Cecille El Beleidi, Consul General of the British Consulate General in China, delivered welcoming addresses respectively at the opening ceremony.

Liang Bin briefed the history of SOLARIS, the basic situation of Sichuan University and the Institute of New Energy and Low Carbon Technology. He hoped that the conference would provide a platform for mutual exchanges and broaden our horizons, thus promoting international cooperation and development in solar energy. He also sincerely invited all the guests to exchange experience with peers in Sichuan University.

Cecille El Beleidi, Consul General of the British Consulate General in China, expressed Britain's pride in playing an important role in solar energy cooperation. She hoped that both sides could jointly tackle global challenges and step into a golden age.

Many experts who were invited to deliver special reports include: Professor Brian Norton, President of Dublin University of Technology, Member of Editorial Board of Solar Energy (SCI journal), Professor Yan Jinyue, Winner of National Overseas High-level Talents Introduction Program and Yangtze Scholar, Academician of the European Academy of Science and Art, President of the Institute of New Energy and Low Carbon Technology, SCU, Tariq Muneer, Professor of the Department of Environmental Engineering of Edinburgh Napier University, outstanding Professor Deo Karan Prasad, Director of Sustainable Architectural Environment Research Centre in New South Wales, Australia, Professor Philip Eames, Director of Renewable Energy Systems Technology Research Centre of University of Loughborough, UK, Dr. Soteris Kalogirou, Professor of the Department of Mechanics and Materials Engineering of University of Cyprus, Editor-in-Chief of Renewable Energy(SCI journal), and Professor Ji Jie, Director of the Research and Demonstration Center for Comprehensive Photo-Thermal Utilization of Solar Energy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Their speeches presented the latest scientific research results and developments in frontier disciplines.

This conference has helped to set up a platform for international exchange and cooperation among scholars from all over the world. Detailed discussions and exchanges were focused on solar radiation measurement and simulation, solar photo-thermal energy, photovoltaic conversion, solar energy materials, solar energy materials for buildings, zero-energy buildings and other research fields.