About Energy Studies Institute

PARTICIPANTS

MR. ALVIN, MEJIA
Director of Analysis and Impact, Urban Electric Mobility Initiative

Alvin Mejia is the Director for Analysis and Impact for the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI), an organisation working towards realising sustainable urban mobility, particularly in developing cities. UEMI also hosts the mobility hub of the Urban Living Lab Centre (ULLC) which is co-hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Technical University Berlin (TUB) the Wuppertal Institute, and UN-Habitat. He currently focuses on embedding and contextualizing impact analysis frameworks towards strengthening the impacts of the organisation. He also serves as a consultant for the third phase of the Asian Transport Outlook project (ADB TA 6763).
Prior to joining UEMI, he worked as a Senior Researcher for the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy focusing on international cooperation projects on sustainable mobility. Before this, he managed the Sustainable Transport Program of Clean Air Asia where he led the development and implementation of projects aimed at generating impulses towards more sustainable pathways for the mobility sector in the developing Asian region.


MR. HUYNH SON, DO
Research Assistant, Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore

Huynh-Son works on power, industrial and transportation energy transition strategies at ESI, with a current focus on institutional evolution and regulatory innovations in China and Vietnam. He has previously worked at other research institutes and consultancies in Oxford, London and Singapore on trade policy and energy sanctions. He attended the London School of Economics and Political Science and graduated with a BSc in Economics and Economic History, focusing on the origins of financial and commodity markets in Medieval Europe.
He has also undergone three years of research training at National Taiwan University and Hanoi National University of Education to translate Ancient Chinese and Ancient Hán-Nôm Vietnamese into their modern forms, researching how states have historically used monetary policy and strategic grain stocks to enact trade sanctions or stabilise in the face of climate pressures. In the future, Huynh-Son hopes to contribute to the development of computational tools to make more accessible such periods of history, to develop these ideas, and contribute to modern theoretical research.


MR. ICHIRO, KUTANI
Senior Research Director, The Institute of Energy Economics Japan

Mr. Kutani has been engaged in energy policy analysis since joining IEEJ in 2007; his main field of research is analysis of the global energy market and energy security issues with an emphasis on Asia. The latest study project engagements include development of an energy master plan for Bangladesh, a Japan-Germany joint study on energy transition, the economic impact of early retirement of coal power plant, ASEAN power grid connectivity, and energy efficiency in the transport sector. Prior to his current role, Mr. Kutani has held positions of Leader of Gas Group, and Visiting Researcher at IEEJ, where his research has addressed US, European, and Asian gas and LNG markets, global coal markets and clean coal technology. Mr. Kutani began his career at JFE Engineering Corp. where he designed and managed natural gas pipeline projects. He holds a Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from Waseda University, Japan.


DR. JEONG WON, KIM
Senior Research Fellow, Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore

Dr. Jeong Won Kim is a Research Fellow at the Energy Studies Institute (ESI) within the National University of Singapore (NUS), and a Research Affiliate at the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN), NUS. She has extensive experience in energy and environmental research and sustainable development project management in international organizations and research institutes based in South Korea and Singapore, including ESI, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Korea Environment Institute (KEI), and UNWTO ST-EP Foundation. Her major research areas include policies and development finance in climate change and renewable energy areas, with focuses on vertical and horizontal policy diffusion among governments and program evaluation based on quantitative analysis and mixed methodology. She is currently leading research projects about carbon pricing and net-zero strategies in Singapore and other economies. She holds a PhD in energy and environmental policy from Korea University, a Master of in public policy from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Public Administration from Korea University.


DR. LIXIA, YAO
Senior Research Fellow, Head of Energy Security Division, Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore

Dr. Yao Lixia joined ESI in October 2013. She did her PhD at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Dalian Maritime University, China, and a Master’s degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium. She has done research on the quantitative measurement of energy security, the impacts of China’s macroeconomic reforms on its energy sector, and the energy security and energy policies of Southeast Asia. She has been leading a research project on decarbonization strategies of several key economies across the world. Her current research covers China’s Belt and Road Initiative, China’s energy transition and energy governance, and decarbonization in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.


MS. MINHEE, SON
Research Associate, Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore

Son Minhee currently serves as a Research Associate at the Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore. Her primary focus is conducting in-depth research on carbon neutrality initiatives and effective strategies for reducing carbon emissions in key countries. Simultaneously, she is pursuing her Ph.D. at the Graduate School of Energy and Environment at Korean University, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to advancing knowledge in sustainability. Throughout her academic journey, she has actively participated in various policy research projects, honing her expertise in conducting comprehensive cost-benefit analyses (CBA) for renewable energy technologies and assessing the environmental impacts of products using life cycle assessment (LCA). What distinguishes she is her keen interest in pioneering innovative solutions to mitigate carbon emissions from emerging technologies and products, including services. Her recent focus is on utilizing life cycle assessment (LCA) to guide environmentally responsible decision-making in this ever-changing landscape.


DR. MUYI, YANG
Associate Director of Clean Energy, Asia Society Policy Institute

Dr. Muyi Yang is Associate Director of Clean Energy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI), where he is responsible for leveraging ASPI’s analytical work and convening capacity to promote the transition towards a clean and more sustainable energy future in Asia. Prior to this role (2016-2022), he worked at the University of Technology Sydney, where he was actively engaged in teaching, research, and consulting on a wide range of policy themes including electricity market reform, renewable uptake, coal power phase-down, transport electrification, energy governance, and political economy. His work mainly focuses on China, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Between 2020 and 2023, he also worked at Ember, a global energy and climate think tank dedicated to promoting the transition from coal to clean power.


DR. PHOUMIN, HAN
Senior Energy Economist, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia

Han Phoumin has more than 20 years of professional experience working at various international and inter-governmental organisations and multidisciplinary research consortiums related to energy market and technologies, environment, integrated water resource management, governance, and economic development in the region of ASEAN and East Asia. Currently, he serves as a senior energy economist at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. Much of his career in the past twelve years has revolved around the power sector, especially in the areas of electricity market integration, waste to energy, sustainable hydropower development, renewable energy policy research, energy efficiency and conservation, clean coal technology, energy security, carbon capture utilisation and storage, financing energy transitions technologies, gas master plan, and energy demand and supply forecasting. His works and research feed into the highlevel policy forum through East Asia Energy Minister Meetings and the regular East Asia Energy Forum organised by ERIA. Dr. Han earned his Ph.D in economic development and policies from Kobe University, where he also specialised in applied econometrics. He also serves as guest editor for various international journals including Energy Frontier, Energy Policy journal and Energy Sustainability Journal, and International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.


MR. ZU XIANG, NG
Research Assistant, Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore

Zu Xiang is a research assistant at the Energy Studies Institute. His current work is focused on decarbonisation and net zero carbon strategies of key economies, including Malaysia, where he examines how different sectors like power generation and heavy industries are reducing their carbon footprints. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and has conducted policy research with the International Association of Labour Inspection. Prior to ESI, he was a research assistant under the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University, where he studied the effectiveness of grievance mechanisms in addressing sustainability issues in the palm oil sector. With his interdisciplinary background, Zu Xiang is interested in exploring environmental political economy and human-nature relations to confront how we might live responsibly in an age of deepening climate crisis.