In its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that any further increase of global temperatures aggravates climate-related risks like species losses, extreme heat and humidity with significant consequences for human health, or negative impacts on food production and water availability; the projected negative outcomes escalate with higher temperature increases [1] . Therefore, worldwide efforts and international policymaking (i.e., The Paris Agreement from 2015) aim at limiting global warming by the end of the 21st century to well below +2°C above pre-ind ..read more

In a world where the demand for electrical power is surging due to the proliferation of IoT edge devices, electric vehicles, and cloud computing, the Power Technology Roadmap (PTR) aims to assist the power electronics industry understand and anticipate the evolution of power conversion technology. The PTR, designed to offer a consolidated outlook of trends in power conversion technology, components, and applications for the next two to five years, recently resumed its webinar series, featuring presentations by industry experts and thought leaders. Let’s delve into the key insights shared in th ..read more

In this article we look at how we can most efficiently “Electrify our World” to reduce emissions and meet net-zero goals by using wide bandgap semiconductors. Based on third party verified life-cycle analysis and sustainability reporting, this article will show how GaN and SiC enable not only CO2 reductions through in-use efficiency but can also support reduced emissions through creation (making the chip) and dematerialization (reducing system size and materials used). We will also illustrate how these technologies not only optimize efficiency but can support increased uptake of electrificat ..read more

Power electronics and battery energy storage are the key enabling technologies for high-efficiency energy conversions to realize green transition. With an increasing demand for electrification, renewable energy integration, and energy saving, more and more power electronics and batteries are being utilized. Consequently, their impact on the environment becomes of great concern, as they are responsible for a considerable amount of material usage including critical raw material during production and e-waste generation after the end-of-life. Going forward, the development of power electronics a ..read more

Topics in control and power electronics play a pivotal role in the transition of power systems from centralized generation to distributed generation, the electrification of transportation, and the improvement of the lives of billions in developing countries. Numerous active sources, such as wind farms, solar farms, distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and flexible loads, are being integrated into power systems through power electronic converters [1] . These demand for skilled power electronics and control engineers with a robust foundation in theoretical k ..read more

Transient voltage overshoot is a common phenomenon in wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductors due to high frequency and fast switching applications. An application driven repetitive transient off-state overvoltage datasheet specification is desired for design engineers. In this work, a 1% duty-cycle-based overvoltage specification is proposed by estimating the total lifetime before the dynamic RDS( on) shift exceeds 20% increase to its initial value under 120% of VDS, Max continuous bias and 75∘C junction temperature. This 1% duty cycle suggests that GaN devices can withstand a 1% duration o ..read more

The small-signal model of a switch-mode power converter is a useful tool in understanding its dynamic behavior and designing a proper compensator. In the power electronics community, people derive small-signal models almost always by perturbation and then extracting the small ac components manually from the whole system equations. This process is not systematic and potentially error prone. This article presents an alternative process to develop small-signal models based on a well-established systematic method that has been used in control system analysis and design for a long period. With th ..read more

The Power Electronics Society’s five-year strategic plan includes enhancing career support and development programs. This focus on career development was clearly seen at IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Expo (ECCE) 2023 with its Women in Engineering (WIE) events program covering aspects from early career to senior leadership. For more about this article see link below. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10433259 For the open access PDF link of this article please click here. The post Women in Engineering– Developing a Leadership Career Path at ECCE 2023 appeared first on IEEE Power Elec ..read more

As a power electronics professional, but also a consumer, you are likely seeing frequent news stories about electric vehicles (EVs), and perhaps have driven or even own an electric car. In 2021, I purchased my first EV. But, it wasn’t a Tesla—300,000 cars sold in the U.S. in 2021 and 4 million sold globally that same year. It was a two-wheeled electric scooter, a mint-green Yadea which was one of 41 million sold just in China the same year. Today’s column is a bit of a departure from our regularly scheduled industry analysis, as I take a look on sustainability that’s niche where I’m from (the ..read more

In the last calendar year, there were many changes within the organization, and it included a challenge to increase the purview of the Students and Young Professionals (S&YP) committee, as well as the events and services that the committee organizes and supports. This was done in part as nearly all major events returned to in-person attendance. To start, the S&YP committee expanded its normal suite of conference events by providing support to additional conferences as they began hosting new S&YP focused events. This support was offered to all conferences that IEEE Power Electronics ..read more