i2Cool CEO Wins 2025 Young Entrepreneur Award, Strengthening Employer Brand Across 5 Sectors

For HR leaders, an executive award is never just a vanity metric—it’s a strategic asset that directly influences talent acquisition and retention. i2Cool’s CEO being named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Hong Kong’s premier leadership program puts the company on the radar of top-tier engineers, materials scientists, and sustainability professionals. In an industry where mission-driven talent often chooses employers based on innovation culture and visible leadership, this recognition can tip the scales in i2Cool’s favor, especially as it scales its electricity-free cooling technology across five critical sectors.

On July 17, 2026, i2Cool Co. announced that its Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Martin Zhu, had been honored with the Young Entrepreneur Award at the 2025 Leader of the Year Awards. Organized by Sing Tao News Corporation, the awards program is one of Hong Kong's most enduring and respected leadership recognition platforms, having been established in 1994. The 2025 ceremony was officiated by The Hon. John Lee Ka-chiu, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and drew representatives from government, industry, academia, and the broader community. This recognition places Prof. Zhu among a select group of visionaries whose contributions have propelled Hong Kong’s economic development, technological progress, and social impact.

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Organized by Sing Tao News Corporation, the awards program is one of Hong Kong's most enduring and respected leadership recognition platforms, having been established in 1994.

The award specifically acknowledges Prof. Zhu’s leadership in bridging the gap between cutting-edge scientific research and large-scale commercial deployment of climate technologies. i2Cool, founded in Hong Kong, is at the forefront of electricity-free cooling solutions built on passive radiative cooling technology. The company’s proprietary approach—which originated from research conducted at the City University of Hong Kong—reflects solar radiation while emitting heat through the atmospheric window, achieving continuous cooling without any electricity consumption. This breakthrough has evolved from laboratory experimentation to practical applications across multiple industries, including buildings, transportation, industrial facilities, energy infrastructure, and textiles. By helping customers reduce cooling-related energy consumption and carbon emissions, i2Cool directly addresses the dual challenges of climate change and extreme heat, which are increasingly critical for both business sustainability and societal resilience.

From a strategic perspective, this award signals more than personal achievement. It functions as a powerful market signal that can accelerate i2Cool’s commercial momentum. The endorsement by Hong Kong’s highest government office and the prestigious award committee enhances the company’s credibility with potential partners, investors, and large-scale clients in sectors ranging from real estate to heavy industry. For a deeptech startup that is translating advanced materials science into tangible products, such third-party validation is often a prerequisite for scaling in conservative B2B markets. Furthermore, the award underscores Hong Kong’s ambitions to serve as a hub for climate innovation, highlighting the region’s supportive ecosystem for research-commercialization pathways.