Founder Mr. Cheng (right) and Dr. Lee (left) share the same aspirations and have great enthusiasm for developing innovative energy-efficient products and technologies. Dr. Lee was invited to be the Group's technology consultant, which sparked a collaboration that has lasted more than three decades.

Trust: A friendship of over three decades begins
 "Apart from my parents, the two biggest benefactors of my life are my thesis advisor and Mr. Cheng." Dr. Lee picked up his rigorous approach from Professor Thomas G Wilson, who at one point spent two hours revising a 35-word abstract Dr. Lee spent half an hour writing. "This was the best lesson that I learned—greatness knows no boundaries and greatness is determined by the effort put in to it." His relationship with the professor was only four to five years, but his relationship with Mr. Cheng has been for more than thirty years. "Mr. Cheng is my role model, a very successful entrepreneur, but one that has not been carried away by success. He lives a simple life and always maintains a pure heart. The lesson I have learned from him on the attitude and enthusiasm of being a person and doing things is unparalleled." During the conversation, Dr. Lee shared this valuable life experience.

"I met Mr. Cheng in 1987 and he was very persistent and kept wanting to collaborate. I was moved by his zeal." A partnership of more than three decades and a lifelong friendship sparked by a kindred soul, Dr. Lee, who is in his 70s, recalled how he was deeply impressed by Mr. Cheng's enthusiasm during their first encounter.

In the 1980s, in order to enhance the technical capabilities of power supply units, Delta knocked on the doors of the best Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) unit laboratory in the United States, which is the Virginia Tech Power Electronics Center (VPEC) helmed by Dr. Lee. At the school's annual meeting, Dr. Lee first met Delta representative, Ouyang Kuang Hua, who invited Dr. Lee to visit the Taipei office to meet personally with founder Mr. Cheng. At the first meeting, founder Mr. Cheng liked the small and high-efficiency power modules and DC-DC converters Dr. Lee carried with him, and Mr. Cheng was eager to forge a deeper form of cooperation. Dr. Lee gave a mild rebuff, proposing that Delta set up a laboratory near the university as the long distance between the United States and Taiwan made it difficult to collaborate. However, Mr. Cheng persevered, "I didn't expect him to take my whimsical idea seriously, I was surprised!" In 1989, the Delta Power Electronics Laboratory (DPEL) was established in the school's Science Park. The industry-academia cooperation saw Delta providing scholarships while VPEC focused on the research and development of technologies. The development of high-efficiency products established Delta's leadership position in SMPS units.

As one of the pioneers of the international power electronics industry, Dr. Lee was conferred the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award, which has the reputation of being the Nobel Prize of power electronics.

Growth: Dr. Lee is always at Delta’s side
Since then, Dr. Lee has been a steadfast companion of Delta as it has grown. "I don't dare to ask for credit, as I merely introduced the latest technologies. Delta achieved 99% of its success by itself." Dr. Lee was very humble as he supported Delta with his actions. Ten years later, with his assistance and organization, the Delta Power Electronics Research and Development Center (DPEC) was established in Shanghai in 1999, becoming an important base for innovative technologies. He transferred the cutting-edge zero-voltage switching technology from the academic field to Delta, and most of Delta's products are now produced on this basis. Dr. Lee assisted in incubating numerous new product development teams and nurtured new R&D talents.
Dr. Lee (4th from left) presided over the establishment of Delta's Power Electronics R&D Center DPEC in 1999, which has gradually become an important innovative technology base for Delta.

In addition, Delta actively gives back to society with Dr. Lee as a key driver. "Delta's contribution to Chinese mainland academia is important! After the mid-90s, mainland China was undergoing rapid development, but the teachers were poorly paid and the research funds were scarce. Mr. Cheng wanted to do something in colleges and universities when he suddenly had the idea of building a university in Pudong, Shanghai. I suggested collaborating with a few major universities and support research funding." Since 2000, the Delta Power Electronics Science and Education Development Program and China-Delta Scholars Program were successively set up to support teachers in scientific research and reward outstanding master's and doctoral students. Ten major universities were invited to participate in the joint promotion of innovation and development of power electronics disciplines and talent training. In 2023, the scope expanded to cover the field of power systems, and the North China Electric Power University and Hunan University were invited to come onboard. Mr. Cheng played a vital role in the early development of power electronics in mainland China, supporting excellent teachers, and driving the academic atmosphere.
Since 2000, with the support of Dr. Lee (1st from right) and founder Mr. Cheng (1st from left), Delta's two programs of science and education were established. As of today, with more than two decades of operation, it has played a significant role in driving innovative research and nurturing talent for university teachers and students.

The Future: Enhancing smart power grid and storage development
"Of late, Delta has done extraordinary things and is breaking a completely new frontier here. More than a decade ago, Mr. Cheng had an interest in the automotive industry and he didn't give up despite spending a lot of money. Therefore, when the electric vehicle market emerged, Delta was able to enter it quickly." Be that as it may, Delta's development of electric vehicles has suffered losses for ten consecutive years. The management team withstood the pressure and persevered. That was the key to achieving an economic scale of one billion US dollars and turning the electric vehicle business group towards profit-making this year.

How will Delta walk down the path of growth, while steadily moving forward? Dr. Lee opined that the next megatrend is clear: by 2060 all fossil fuel power generation or transportation will be replaced by electricity, and that is equivalent to the total output value of more than 17,000 nuclear power plants. Delta needs to invest a lot of resources in developing high power switching power supplies in the MW level and beyond. Investment in renewable energy and energy storage markets will be higher, but efforts must be super-charged today for us to seize the window of opportunity presented tomorrow and stay ahead of others, and achieve 10x or 100x or even higher growth. 
 All partners involved in the 400kW high-speed fast charging project, along with Delta Americas and Dr. Lee from Virginia Tech CPES (fourth from the left), gather for a group photo in front of the charging equipment.

Expectations: Dedicating his efforts towards one focus
Although the conversation was taking place at close to 11 p.m. in the United States, Dr. Lee was still in glowing spirits and revealed an interesting coincidence with Mr. Cheng. Both of them studied at the Taichung First Senior High School and the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Cheng Kung University. They also used to work for TRW, an American precision electronics company. He repeatedly and humbly said that he could not be compared with Mr. Cheng, but their ability to know and cherish each other may lie in possessing the same characteristics of strict self-discipline, leniency towards others, taking concrete actions, and being sincere. Dr. Lee teaches students according to their aptitude and spares no effort in supporting underachievers. When asked for a piece of advice for the young? He said, "dedicate your efforts towards one focus". Such is a Dr. Lee, who has become Mr. Cheng's trusted lifelong friend, and Delta's strongest driving force for progre