The Future Energy Electronics Center wins the Grand Championship in TECO’s 2024, Net Zero Tech International Contest in Taiwan

The FUTURE ENERGY ELECTRONICS CENTER, teamed with the National Yan Ming Chiao Tung University, and won Taiwan’s TECO 2024, Net Zero Tech International Contest by developing an Ultrahigh Efficiency Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Energy Storage and Super Charging Applications, (TECO x NTU 2024 Net-Zero Emissions Technology International Competition - 東元電機). Two hundred forty teams participated in this competition for NTD’s one million dollar prize that the FEEC team clinched.

The FEEC’s 15-kW bidirectional dc-dc converter prototype was based on a wide bandgap semiconductor device design that achieved 99.8% peak load efficiency. Their design utilized multiple converters in paralleled to reach 100’s kilowatts for EV fast charging and energy storage.

Compared to the 90% efficiency of existing EV fast charger systems and the 80% efficiency of existing energy storage systems, FEEC’s design could eliminate 100’s coal fired plants worldwide, thus unveiling significant benefits and savings.

Future Energy Electronics Center Awarded a Plus-up Funding from ARPA-E

The FUTURE ENERGY ELECTRONICS CENTER received a plus-up funding from ARPA-E's, "Creating Innovative and Reliable Circuits Using Inventive Topologies and Semiconductors (CIRCUITS) program", which seeks to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative, high power, high performance electric power converters. The 'CIRCUITS' projects leverage a new class of efficient, lightweight and reliable power converters based on wide bandgap (WBG), semiconductor technology, using materials like silicon carbide or gallium nitride instead of the silicon that is dominant today.

The objective of the plus-up funding is to develop a hybrid binary multilevel inverter for medium-voltage utility-scale applications. The inverter is rated 7.2 kV, 100 kW using hybridized cascade and flying capacitor combination to achieve a synthesize high voltage output with high-voltage devices switching at the fundamental frequency to avoid pulse width modulation, which tends to generate a high voltage field that can upset the switching and measured signals. The output waveform is step-like, with 43 voltage levels that reduce the total harmonic distortion down to less than 2.5%. As a result, the output connecting to a regular resistive-inductive load or the grid can avoid the use of an inductor or any filters. With the added funding, the total budget is increased to $1.47M.

Future Energy Electronics Center Awarded $1.03M from DOE Solar Energy Technology Office

The FUTURE ENERGY ELECTRONICS CENTER received an Award from the DOE Solar Energy Technology Office for $1.03M to develop an electrolyte-free microinverter. Through the DOE early Sunshot Program, the solar panel and its ancillary system components have seen dramatic cost reduction over the last ten years. This new initiative is to further the cost reductions to enable widespread solar adoption across the U.S.. The new SunShot goal for 2030 is to cut the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from utility-scale solar by an additional 50% to $0.03 per kilowatt hour, while also addressing grid integration challenges and key market barriers in an effort to enable greater solar adoption.

The main objective of the FEEC project is to eliminate the electrolytic capacitors while converting the PV's DC output to AC for grid-tie in with an efficiency >98% for a 400-W microinverter. The goal is to achieve a >35-year life time product at low-cost production, enabling the LCOE to meet the new Sunshot goal. The approach is to utilize potentially low-cost wide bandgap devices to increase the switching frequency to a mega-hertz range that reduces the passive component sizes to a level that allows the entire microinverter to fit into a junction box and further reduces the use of potting materials and cable connections. In addition to the efficiency gain and cost reductions, the project will incorporate advanced control functionalities to meet the IEEE 1547 Standards requirement.

Future Energy Electronics Center Awarded $1.05M in Funding

The FUTURE ENERGY ELECTRONICS CENTER received this competitive award from ARPA-E's, "Creating Innovative and Reliable Circuits Using Inventive Topologies and Semiconductors (CIRCUITS) program", which seeks to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative, high power, high performance electric power converters. CIRCUITS' projects leverage a new class of efficient, lightweight and reliable power converters based on wide bandgap (WBG), semiconductor technology, using materials like silicon carbide or gallium nitride instead of the silicon that is dominant today.

The objective of the project is to develop a GaN and SiC based, utility scale, high-power (100 kW), multilevel medium-voltage, DC-to-AC inverter that can receive power from sources like batteries or solar panels and transfer it directly to the medium-voltage level utility grid. The team will integrate the developed inverter with an existing medium-voltage AC-to-DC converter to build a bidirectional solid-state transformer that converts low-voltage AC to high-voltage AC without using heavy, low-frequency materials, such as copper and iron in its design. If successful, the project could lead to the first commercially viable medium-voltage solid-state transformer, using just a single-stage process to obtain ultra-high efficiency power conversion.

AC Power Donates PV ATE Inverter and Verification System

FEEC is delighted by AC Power's generous contribution towards the High Penetration Solar Deployment Initiative. The PV Inverter and Verification System that AC Power donated is a power conditioning system designed to address power inconsistencies associated with power generation, while at the same time, adhering to regulatory standards.

Google Little Box Challenge

More than 100 international teams from university researchers and students to large companies and garage tinkerers entered the Google Little Box Challenge competition where FEEC placed an impressive third place. Eighteen finalists, which included the FEEC team were chosen in October 2015. These 18 teams entered the Challenge's final stretch by submitted their competition prototypes, which underwent Google's stringent test regimen. The results of this worldwide competition were announced at the ARPA-E 2016, March conference. Of the 18 finalists, only 3 teams passed every one of Google's test requirements. Proudly, FEEC was the only university team to finish in the top three; poised amongst two seasoned competing teams.

DOE HiPen Project

FEEC is excited to have received funding from DOE as part of their High Penetration Solar Deployment initiative. A collaborative effort with EPRI and UT Austin, the project will focus on analyzing and improving today's PV power technologies.

Current Projects

• Microgrid with Parallel Inverters
• 55kW Motor Drive for FreedomCAR Electric Vehicle
• 4kW Grid-Tie Solar Inverter
• Low-Voltage High-Current Fork Lift Motor Drive
  
• High Power Bidirectional DC-DC Converter
  
• High Efficiency Multiphase DC-DC Converter
  
• High Efficiency Soft-Switching DC-AC Inverter
  
• Solarized Fuel Cell Power System
  
• Micro-inverter
  
• Induction Cooker
  
• LED Lighting Driver