Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Instructor(s):
Babu Chalamala
Sai Althurthi

Prerequisites:
None

Abstract:

Power electronics dominates the grid edge and plays a central role in connecting distributed energy resources, loads, and infrastructure to the broader power system. Grid-edge power-electronic systems continue to expand toward higher voltages and capacities, ranging from kilowatts to megawatts.

Although these applications share common wide-bandgap semiconductor devices and power-conversion technologies, their requirements can be significantly different. Grid-forming converters require scalability, controllability, stability, and grid integration.

The fast-charging systems require high efficiency with wide voltage-range operation. AI data center power systems prioritize extreme power density and efficiency, while solid-state transformers require high-voltage capability, high power density, scalability, and reliability.

These diverse requirements are supplied by different converter topologies, intermediate conversion stages, system architectures, control strategies, and protection approaches. Understanding how common power-electronic building blocks can be combined into application-specific architecture is therefore essential for engineers working on the future grid edge.

This tutorial aimed at the general engineering practitioner will provide a system-level introduction to the power-electronic technologies enabling modern grid-edge systems, progressing from semiconductor devices and converter building blocks to application-specific architectures and grid integration strategies. The tutorial will focus on the following topics:

• Wide-bandgap device technologies.
• Power-converter circuit topologies.
• Grid-forming converters.
• Fast-charging systems.
• Power electronics for data centers.
• Solid-state transformers.
• Protection circuits.