ZHENJIANG, Jiangsu, China — Inlux Solar signed a research and development agreement with the School of Automation at Jiangsu University of Science and Technology (JUST) on 2 November 2026, formalising a collaboration on solar lighting technology. At the same ceremony, CEO Justin Lee donated a custom-built solar street light to his alma mater as part of the university’s 93rd anniversary celebrations.
Under the agreement, the two sides will work on intelligent lighting control, remote monitoring, energy management and the integration of emerging technologies into solar street lighting. The university brings research capacity and technical depth; Inlux Solar contributes field experience from installations in more than 60 countries, along with engineering and manufacturing resources.
The collaboration is meant to close a familiar gap in this industry. A control strategy that looks convincing in simulation often struggles on a real road, and products shipped without measurement rarely improve. The stated aim is to test ideas against hardware that has to work every night.
Four research tracks
- Intelligent lighting control: control strategies that raise efficiency and system performance without taking light away from where it is needed.
- Remote monitoring: diagnostics and management of installations spread across a site, from a single interface.
- Energy management: more effective use of what the panel collects, through system-level optimisation.
- Technology integration: turning new sensing and communication hardware into products that can be manufactured, installed and serviced at scale.
A ship-shaped light for a shipbuilding university
The donation was the more visible half of the day. The light is a vertical-panel solar street light whose luminaire is shaped after the bow of a ship — a reference to the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, and to a university whose identity was formed by shipbuilding. JUST grew out of the East China Shipbuilding Institute, and shipbuilding still runs through its teaching and research.
It now stands on a campus road, working as a light and reading as a piece of the university’s own history.
“The lamp is beautiful. I saw its shape from the upper floor and recognised it immediately,” said the Dean of the School of Automation. “You can tell at a glance that this light belongs to JUST. It captures the shipbuilding spirit of this university.”
Watch the signing and the handover:
Inside the donated light
The unit is a custom build of the Inlux Solar INL-SPL01 vertical solar pole light, adapted for the campus.
- 80 W LED system built around 7070 LED chips
- Vertical solar panel integrated into the pole, so the array takes up no separate ground area
- 4G camera for remote video monitoring of the road it lights
On a campus, that combination answers a practical question. A light that reports its own status is easier to maintain than one that has to be walked and inspected, and a camera mounted on the same pole covers the road without a second structure or a second power source.
Functional outdoor lighting, in other words, does not have to be anonymous. The engineering and the symbolism can sit in the same object.
Giving something back
For Lee, the light is a way of closing a circle. He studied at JUST, and the anniversary gave him a reason to bring back something his own industry makes.
“Lighting is not only about making a space visible,” Lee said. “It can carry a story and pass on the values of a place. This light belongs to JUST, and I hope it is still standing here long after the anniversary banners have come down.”
The agreement and the donation point in the same direction — a campus that tests ideas in daylight, and a factory that turns them into products that have to work at night.
About Inlux Solar
Inlux Solar is a solar street lighting manufacturer based in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. The company designs and produces all-in-one, all-in-two, split-type and decorative solar street lights, solar pole lights, high mast systems and light poles, and has delivered more than 300,000 units to projects in over 60 countries. Its range is backed by more than 60 patents and a five-year warranty.
Product page: INL-SPL01 vertical solar pole light
Media enquiries: sales@inluxsolar.com
