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Project title

Power Converters for Environmental Applications

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University College Cork (UCC)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

Electrification has become humanity's greatest resource in addressing climate change and pollution. New diamond-type wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductors are revolutionising energy conversion due to their extremely fast switching of voltage and current, resulting in low power loss and high efficiency. This increased efficiency reduces the energy consumption of our electrical devices and appliances and the related carbon emissions. The great challenge for WBG devices is that the environmental benefits, of reduced carbon emissions and toxic emissions, are counter-balanced by the electrical noise created by the super-fast devices polluting our wireless electromagnetic world (radio, TV, mobile phone and Wi-Fi). Control of this noise is mandatory by law: global standards require all electrical device manufacturers to pass electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing, before putting a product on the market. Reducing electrical noise and passing EMC testing is often the most challenging part of electrical engineering design and is often seen as a dark art that is beyond conventional engineering. The objective of this ambitious thesis is to research and demystify EMC, create standard solution options, and essentially turn the dark art into a mainstream science so that the energy and environmental benefits of WBG devices can be realised in full. We will work with local and global companies, e.g. SMA (the global leaders in solar electric), AC Propulsion and US Hybrid (California-based electric vehicle innovators), Raytheon Technologies (world leaders in aircraft), plus world-leading universities: Ivy-League Dartmouth, ETH Zurich, MIT, Chiba, and Leibniz Hannover, to leverage their expertise and resources. We will engage with our partners to 1) identify representative technical challenges across the wide fields of energy storage, power electronics, electrical machines and related applications; 2) develop the related theory of noise propagation; 3) design and build prototypes; 4) test and characterize; 5) innovate and develop solution sets for optimum performance.

Grant Approved

�110,000

Research Hub

Climate related research

Research Theme

Achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Start Date

01/09/2021

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/08/2025