Newsflash

Recently, the "2026 Automotive Thermal Systems Academic Annual Conference," jointly organized by the China Society of Automotive Engineers, the Chinese Association of Refrigeration, and the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, was held grandly from July 22 to 24 in Shenyang, Liaoning. Over 700 delegates from national regulatory authorities, universities and research institutes, Chinese and foreign enterprises, and local governments attended the conference. Centering on industry pain points and challenges, the conference forged a unified consensus across the entire industrial chain—independent innovation, embracing AI, and sharing full-lifecycle solutions, while leveraging China's speed to sprint toward a core position in the global automotive thermal systems arena.

Shanghai Pufaffen Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., as a representative enterprise in the field of automotive thermal management software innovation, was invited to participate in the conference. The company set up an exhibition booth and delivered a keynote speech, sharing with industry peers cutting-edge thoughts and practical achievements in the thermal management industry in the AI era.

On the morning of July 24, at the third parallel session (Key Components and System Simulation), Zhang Liang, founder and general manager of Pufafen, delivered a keynote speech titled "Through Mist and Haze, My Old Companions Fade from Sight | Restructuring and Equalization of the Thermal Management Industry in the AI Era."

The phrase "Through mist and haze, my old companions fade from sight" is adapted from a line in Ouyang Xiu's Die Lian Hua (Butterflies in Love with Flowers). Mr. Zhang used this metaphor to illustrate the confusion and challenges faced by the thermal management industry amid technological waves.

In his speech, Mr. Zhang shared Pufafen's latest practices in AI-empowered thermal management: leveraging technologies such as fitting perception, energy prediction, and AI algorithms to help OEMs rapidly achieve highly integrated thermal management systems; evolving from single physiological monitoring to multi-dimensional emotional perception, and delivering personalized "thousands-of-people, thousands-of-faces" thermal comfort experiences through AI-driven dynamic execution strategies. He emphasized that Pufafen is committed to becoming the "Tier 0.5 for OEMs in the context of software-defined vehicles," empowering the entire industrial chain with software capabilities, and driving thermal management from "hardware-driven" to "software-defined." This enables more automakers to gain commanding control over core thermal management technologies through software capabilities—which is precisely the essence of "equalization."

The speech sparked extensive discussion and resonance among attendees, receiving an enthusiastic on-site response.