Dr.Jun Li is a Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at the School of Vehicle and Mobility, Tsinghua University, and a Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He currently serves as the Honorary Chairman of the China Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE-China).
He received his Ph.D. in Internal Combustion Engine Engineering from Jilin University (formerly Jilin Polytechnical University) in 1989. In the same year, he joined the Changchun Automotive Research Institute of China FAW Group Corporation. Since 2000, he served as Chief Engineer of the R&D Center, Director of the R & D Center of China FAW Group, Deputy Chief Engineer of China FAW Group, and Chief Engineer of China FAW Co., Ltd. He has long led product development and technological innovation in China’s large-scale automotive enterprises, establishing a domestically leading independent automotive R&D system and capabilities. He has led major product programs at China FAW Group and contributed to national key projects, including the 863 and 973 Programs and third-generation medium high-mobility tactical vehicle development. Since joining Tsinghua University in 2018, his research has focused on intelligent mobility and vehicle technologies for carbon peaking and neutrality. He established the Research Center for Intelligent Vehicle Design and Safety Technology, Tsinghua University Institute for New Technology Concept Vehicles and the Tsinghua University FAWaw Jiefang Automotive Co., Ltd. Joint Research Center for Intelligent Carbon Neutral Vehicle Technology.
In the research of intelligent vehicle safety technologies His pioneering work has been conducted in the field of The Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF) for autonomous driving vehicles. This work has systematically and comprehensively led to the development of the "Entropy Increase Principle for Autonomous Driving System SOTIF," the "SOTIF Development Process for Autonomous Driving Vehicles," the "SOTIF Protection Brain for Autonomous Driving Vehicles," the "SOTIF Index Methodology," and the "Safety Testing and Evaluation Method for Autonomous Driving Systems Based on the SOTIF Index." Furthermore, China’s first "Autonomous Driving System SOTIF Laboratory" was established under his leadership. Leading the team, multiple national research projects on SOTIF for autonomous driving vehicles funded by organizations such as the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) were undertaken and completed under his leadership. A research platform named "Enabling and Empowering Integration to Address SOTIF Risks in Autonomous Driving Based on the Entropy Increase Principle" was also created under his leadership.
In the research of carbon peaking and neutrality technologies, he has proposed the combustion mechanism of ammonia–hydrogen direct injection liquid ammonia engines and invented a thermo-electric hybrid power system based on ammonia–hydrogen fusion. He has been leading the first NSFC special project on zero-carbon ammonia–hydrogen power systems for heavy-duty vehicles, pioneering the research field of ammonia–hydrogen zero-carbon intelligent vehicles. He has established the world’s first multi-cylinder ammonia–hydrogen heavy-duty engine laboratory and has developed an integrated platform combining ammonia–hydrogen internal combustion engines with multi-stack fuel cell systems. In 2023, in collaboration with FAW Jiefang, he has developed China’s first ammonia-hydrogen fusion engine for heavy-duty commercial vehicle, successfully achieving ignition and trial operation. Currently, work is underway with FAW Jiefang to develop a new heavy-duty commercial vehicle ammonia-hydrogen fusion engine and an intelligent energy-saving vehicle control system based on real-time scenario perception.
Activities in the automotive community He serves as Honorary Chairman of SAE-China, Chairman of the China Industry Innovation Alliance for Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, Director of the National Innovation Center for Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, and Chair of the working group on Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF), Chairman of the China Industry Innovation Alliance for Intelligent and Connected Heavy Duty Commercial Vehicles, Honorary Director of AI branch of SAE-China, contributing to automotive technology innovation and industrial development in China.
He has received one First Prize and one Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, one Second Prize of the National Technological Invention Award, three Special Prizes and two First Prizes of the China Automotive Industry Science and Technology Award, two First Prizes and one Second Prize of the China Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award, and one provincial/ministerial First Prize. He was awarded the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for Scientific and Technological Innovation in 2012. He holds over 50 authorized patents and has published more than 100 academic papers. He was elected as the first Chinese President of the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (FISITA) in 2009 and served from 2012 to 2014, and received the FISITA Outstanding Contribution Award in 2018. He was awarded the National Model Worker title and the May Day Labor Medal in 2005, as well as the Commemorative Medal for the 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China jointly issued by the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission. He was elected as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2013.
