Towards Power Electronic Centric Power Systems

电力电子领域基础研究的进展将在社会向其净能源基础设施电气化的经济转型和实现其雄心勃勃的温室气体排放目标方面发挥关键作用。向可再生能源和电气化交通的转变，将对以电力电子为中心的未来电力基础设施提出更多需求，而今天的技术无法满足这些需求。为了满足这些需求，将需要几项关键的使能电网技术和辅助工程工具，以最大限度地利用电力电子技术使交直流型混合电力系统的好处。这将导致一个与今天的60赫兹传统交流电力系统完全不同的电力系统。拟议的研究计划研究未来电力电子为中心的电力系统所特有的三个关键方面。首先，对模块化多电平转换器的研究将探索新的拓扑结构，以创建能够高转换比的单级DC/DC转换器结构，目标是这些结构提供接近变压器的功能，但用于DC系统。这样的解决方案将提供一种在可再生能源、储能系统和直流负载之间直接交换直流电的方法，而不需要像今天的电网中采用的那样使用大量昂贵的AC/DC大功率转换器。这在提高电网的能效和可靠性方面也有额外的好处。其次，将发展具有固有能力的直流网络，以电子方式限制或中断危险电网故障电流的幅度。这一发展承诺通过提供广泛的途径来获得直流输电和配电网络所能提供的无数经济和环境好处，从而显著降低电力基础设施的成本。最后，迫切需要下一代工程工具来设计、控制和分析这些新兴网络，这些网络的特点将是新型电力电子系统的高度渗透，这些系统的运行方式与当今并网的电力电子系统截然不同。基于系统线性化理论的经典建模技术无法捕捉到新兴电力电子系统中的重要能量传递机制，但恰恰这些系统提供了通往以前不可用功能的门户和降低基础设施成本的新途径。由G20建立的全球基础设施中心预计，2020年至2040年期间，美国将在全球电力能源基础设施方面投资超过20万亿美元。这项投资的最佳部署将取决于下一代电力电子系统提供的电力转换和控制技术。

Advancement of fundamental research in the power electronic field will play a pivotal role in society's ability to economically transition towards electrification of its net energy infrastructure and to meet its ambitious green house gas emission targets. The shift towards renewables and electrified transport, will place additional demands on future, power electronic centric, electrical infrastructure that cannot be met by today's technology. To meet these demands, several key enabler grid technologies and supporting engineering tools will be required to optimally exploit the benefits of mixed AC and DC type power systems, as made possible by power electronics. This will result in a fundamentally different power system than the 60 Hz legacy AC power system of today. The proposed research program investigates three critical facets unique to future power electronic centric power systems. First, research into modular multi-level converters will explore new topologies to create single-stage DC/DC converter structures capable of high conversion ratios with goal that these structures provide functionality nearing that of a transformer, but for DC systems. Such solutions will provide a means of direct exchange of DC power between renewables, energy storage systems and DC loads without the multitude of costly AC/DC high power converters that are employed in today's electrical grid. This also has additional benefits in terms of improved energy efficiency and reliability of the grid. Secondly, DC networks that offer inherent capacity to electronically limit or interrupt the amplitude of hazardous grid fault currents will be developed. This development has promise to significantly reduce the cost of electrical infrastructure by providing broad access to the myriad of economic and environmental benefits that DC transmission and distribution networks can offer. Finally, next generation engineering tools are critically needed for the design, control and stability analysis of these emergent networks which will feature a high penetration of new power electronic systems that operate quite differently than the grid-interfaced power electronics of today. Classical modeling techniques, based on the theory of system linearization are failing to capture significant energy transfer mechanisms within emergent power electronic systems, yet precisely these systems provide the gateway to formerly unavailable functionality and new avenues for infrastructure cost reductions. The Global Infrastructure Hub, established by the G20, anticipates over $20 trillion U.S. will be invested globally in electrical energy infrastructure between 2020 and 2040. Optimal deployment of this investment will hinge on the technologies available for the conversion and control of electrical power, as provided by next generation power electronic systems.