Power Converter Technologies for Medium Voltage Distribution Grids

电网是我们最重要的能源基础设施之一。如今，过去世纪建立的电网基础设施正在经历可再生能源、非传统负荷和不同形式的储能系统发电量的快速增长。这些趋势-再加上需要升级老化的电网-代表了一个及时的机会，以最好的电网结构推进加拿大的电网。为了适应这些变化，电网正在从传统的交流电网发展到更高效、更灵活的交直流混合电网，该电网可以更好地集成可再生能源、更高效的负载和多区域系统。目前，大多数交直流电网研究集中在高压输电系统或低压二次配电系统。然而，由于对中压基础设施的需求，例如电动汽车充电站、太阳能发电厂、风力发电场、公用事业规模的电池储能、城市轻轨交通和数据中心，中压一次配电系统的AC-DC电网变得越来越重要。这些新系统的快速增长凸显了部署中压直流或中压AC-DC系统的需求。**在中等电压，多电平换流器技术需要解决这一研究空白。电力电子技术对AC-DC电网至关重要，因为它们在AC和DC以及各种电压水平之间转换电压。在UAlberta，我的研究小组一直在对电力电子和AC-DC电网运行进行高影响力的研究，并得到了最先进的研究和培训设施的支持。在本次Discovery研究中，我将重点关注中压配电系统的多电平变流器技术。工作计划包括新的中压变流器拓扑结构、多电平变流器建模和分析方法，以及控制和脉宽调制策略。这些领域的进展将提供一个关键环节，以实现交直流电网的全频谱一体化，包括发电、输电和配电，并具有最高的效率和灵活性。从传统电网到交直流智能电网的发展是世界范围内的趋势。该发现计划将为加拿大智能电网行业提供重要的知识和解决方案，根据该计划培训的年轻人将使该行业具有竞争优势。

The electrical grid is one of our most critical energy infrastructures. Today, the grid infrastructure built over the past century is experiencing a rapid increase in power generation from renewable sources, non-traditional loads, and different forms of energy storage systems. These trends – coupled with the need to upgrade aging grids – represent a timely opportunity to advance Canada's electrical grid with the best grid structures.******To accommodate these changes, the power grid is evolving from a traditional AC grid to a more efficient and flexible hybrid AC-DC grid which can better integrate renewable energy sources, more efficient loads, and multi-area systems. Most AC-DC grid research today focuses on either high voltage transmission systems or low voltage secondary distribution systems. However, AC-DC grids for the medium voltage primary distribution system are becoming increasingly important because of the demand for medium voltage infrastructure such as charging stations for electrical vehicles, solar plants, wind farms, utility-scale battery energy storage, urban light-rail transportation, and data centres. The rapid growth of these new systems highlights the need for the deployment of medium voltage DC or medium voltage AC-DC systems.******At medium voltage, multilevel converter technologies are needed to address this research gap. Technologies enabled by power electronics are vital to AC-DC grids because they convert voltage between AC and DC as well as various voltage levels. At UAlberta, my research group has been conducting high impact research on power electronics and AC-DC grid operation supported by state-of-the-art research and training facilities. In this Discovery research, I will focus on multilevel converter technologies for medium voltage distribution systems. The work plan includes new medium voltage converter topologies, multilevel converter modelling and analysis methods, as well as control and pulse-width-modulation strategies. Progress in these areas will provide a critical link to enable full spectrum integration of the AC-DC grid, including generation, transmission and distribution, with the highest efficiency and flexibility. The evolution from traditional electrical grids to AC-DC smart grids is a worldwide trend. This Discovery program will contribute vital knowledge and solutions to the Canadian smart grid industry and the young people trained under this program will give the industry a competitive edge.