INDUSTRY
CPES Wide Bandgap High Power Converters & Systems (WBG-HPCS)
The CPES mini-consortium program provides a unique forum for creating synergy among industries and defining new research directions to meet future industry needs. The formation of the mini-consortium allows CPES to pool resources and focus on developing pre-competitive technologies to address common challenges, and sharing the research results among mini-consortium members.
Current WBG-HPCS Members (8):
ABB, Inc.Aurora Flight SciencesDelta ElectronicsHitachi EnergyRockwell AutomationSchneider Electric IT CorporationSiemens Corporate TechnologyTMEIC
WBG-HPCS Prospectus (updated: Dec 2020)WBG-HPCS Achievement Nuggets (updated: Dec 2020)WBG-HPCS Report for 2013 - 2015 (PDF, 17MB)WBG-HPCS Report for 2012 (PDF, 18MB)WBG-HPCS Report for 2011 (PDF, 13MB)
A Window Into The Miniconsortium
Background
This CPES mini-consortium program provides a unique, open, and collaborative forum for the power industry to explore, jointly with CPES researchers, new and emerging power conversion technologies seeking to meet what are the ever-increasing energy needs our modern society demands; from power semiconductors, to gate drivers, to converters, down to the impact they can have on power systems.As a mini-consortium, WBG-HPCS allows CPES to pool various resources seeking to develop the above pre-competitive technology, addressing common industry challenges, and effectively sharing research results among its members while leveraging CPES' expertise in WBG-based power conversion and its vast knowledge of electronic power systems accrued over the past 30 years working with the transportation and IT industries. This has allowed the WBG-HPCS (since its inception in 2011) to move decisively into high-power, medium-voltage applications for grid, industrial, and transportation applications.In addition, CPES has continued striving to support research activities within the WBG-HPCS mini-consortium by securing funding, at the basic research level, from several government agencies, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), DARPA, and ARPA-E. These agencies have been instrumental in the development of key enabling technologies presently in use in WBG-based high-power electronics applications, having pioneered many of them. As such, they represent ideal collaboration partners who generate invaluable synergy within CPES in pursuit of the mini-consortium's goals.
Work Scope
- High-power WBG-based power converters
- WBG-based power electronics technology
- Renewable energy integration
- Stability and dynamic interactions in power converter systems
