Power Electronics

The University of Colorado Boulder and its project team will develop new composite SiC power converter technology that achieves high power and voltage conversion (250 VDC to 1200 VDC) in a smaller package than ever achieved. The team seeks to demonstrate the power converter as an on-board, high power, multifunctional power system for both charging electric vehicles and providing power to the motor. If successful, the CU Boulder team will make important progress towards reducing the size and complexity of power systems associated with electric vehicles.

The University of Illinois at Chicago and its project team will develop a new high-power converter topology for fast charging of electric vehicles (EV). The team will use wide-bandgap-based power modules to enable rapid charging of an EV battery. As wide-bandgap device technology improves, the proposed charger topology will reduce the size and weight of EV fast charging units, envisioning the prospect that the fast charging station could be built into an EV itself. If successful, project developments will help accelerate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and its project team will develop new integrated motor drives (IMDs) using current-source inverters (CSIs). Recent advances in both SiC and GaN wide-bandgap semiconductor devices make these power switches well-suited for the selected CSI topology that the team plans to integrate into high-efficiency electric motors with spinning permanent magnets. If successful, the new IMDs will be capable of producing significant energy savings in a wide variety of industrial, commercial, and residential applications ranging from air conditioners to pumps and compressors

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its project team will develop an extremely efficient AC-toDC converter based on GaN devices for use in data centers. The team seeks to develop a prototype device that converts power from the grid (110-240 V at 50-60 Hz) to 48 VDC and lower point-of-load supplies used by data centers at efficiencies exceeding 97% and power densities beyond 7.5 kW/L. If successful, project developments will greatly reduce the amount of energy lost powering data centers while significantly improving power capability over current converters.

Dynapower designed and manufacture an ultrafast Bi-directional inverters for use in Battery Energy Storage System.

Powers overhead LED lighting, charges cell phones, and includes LED headlamps that come with their own rechargeable batteries.