Research on Enabling Technologies for Electrification of Transportation and Integration of Renewables in Remote Communities' Microgrids

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

All indicators point to electrification of transportation and integration of renewables in the energy systems as key technological strategies for the future. Paradigm shifts from conventional, internal combustion engine (ICE)-based to purely-electric in vehicle technology, and from fossil fuel-based to renewable-integrated in electricity generation industry are inevitable due to concerns about adverse environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels, rising oil prices, dependence on politically-insecure existing oil supplies, depletion of oil reservoirs, and low efficiency of energy conversion in conventional vehicular systems. Electrification of transportation and integration of renewables heavily depend on technologies such as electric machines, energy storage, power electronics, wind turbines and photovoltaics. Among these, power electronics is receiving special attention, as the enabling technology for power conditioning and multi-source integration. Based on extensive knowledge and experience accured over many years of research on power electronic converter topologies and control techniques for various renewable energy- and vehicle-related applications, the applicant proposes a research program addressing the challenges faced by the automotive and electric utility industries in development of high-performance plugin vehicles and integration of renewables in isolated diesel generation-dominated microgrids.