Center for Advanced Power-Conversion Technology and Equipment
Introduction
Center for Advanced Power-Conversion Technology and Equipment is mainly dedicated to fundamental theoretical research and cutting-edge key technology development in power electronics. Its research areas cover DC grid equipment, AC/DC transmission and distribution equipment, grid-connected renewable energy generation, power quality management, distributed energy storage, high-voltage high-power industrial power supplies, wireless power transfer, and LED lighting drivers. Many research achievements have been successfully applied in industry, realizing remarkable transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
In recent years, the center has undertaken more than 100 research projects, including the National Key R&D Project for Smart Grid (PI: Prof. Wu Chen), National Key R&D Program projects, the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Distinguished Young Scholar Fund / Excellent Young Scientist Fund, Jiangsu Provincial Key R&D Programs, State Grid technical research projects, and State Grid science and technology support projects. The annual research funding is about 20 million RMB. The center has more than 100 members, including 5 professors, 6 associate professors, and over 100 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students (master's and doctoral candidates). It has won 1 First-Class Natural Science Award from the Ministry of Education, 1 First-Class, 1 Second-Class and 3 Third-Class Science and Technology Awards from Jiangsu Province, and 1 First-Class Science and Technology Progress Award from the China Electrotechnical Society.
Research Team
Director: Prof. Wu Chen
Dr. Wu Chen has long been engaged in the research of high-power conversion technologies and applications. He has published more than 100 SCI/EI papers as the first/corresponding author and authored 5 monographs. He owns 7 authorized US patents and more than 50 authorized Chinese invention patents.
He has been the principal investigator of multiple projects, including the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scientists, the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scientists, the NSFC International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Program, projects under the National Key R&D Program of China, and General/Youth Projects of the NSFC.
He has received the First Prize of Natural Science Award of the Ministry of Education, the First Prize of Science and Technology Award of Jiangsu Province, the First Prize of Technological Invention Award of Anhui Province, the First Prize of Science and Technology Progress Award of the China Electrotechnical Society, the Nomination Award for National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation, the China Electric Power Outstanding Researcher Award, and the Outstanding Youth Award of the China Power Supply Society. He has been selected into the "333 High-Level Talent Program" and the "Six Talent Peaks" High-Level Talent Program of Jiangsu Province.
Core Members
- Professors: Jianyong Zhen, Jianfeng Zhao, Wu Chen, Xiaohui Qu, Heng Wu
- Associate Professors: Jun Mei, Wu Cao, Jiaxing Lei, Zhan Shen, Jiangfeng Wang, Xin Li
Research Directions
1. High-Voltage High-Power Power Supply Technology: Development of high-voltage high-power pulsating power supplies for dust removal and nanosecond high-voltage pulsed discharge plasma power supplies.
2. Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) Technology: Development of key equipment for hybrid AC/DC grids and flexible DC transmission and distribution networks, including hybrid intelligent power electronic transformers, energy routers, and DC transformers.
3. Cascaded H-Bridge Converter Technology: Development of 10 kV / 35 kV megawatt-level medium-voltage solid-state transformers (SST), variable frequency drives, and static var generator (SVG) systems.
4. Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Technology: Development of medium-power string photovoltaic inverters, microinverters, and grid-connected PV systems; research on microgrid operation strategies.
5. Microgrid and Energy Storage Technology: Research on power and stability control techniques for multiple paralleled converters in microgrids, and coordinated control strategies for energy storage and renewable energy sources; development of power conversion system (PCS) for energy storage and integrated photovoltaic-storage systems with common DC bus.
6. Power Quality Monitoring and Management: Development of high-performance power quality monitoring terminals and meters, large-scale wide-area cloud-based power quality monitoring systems; development of low-voltage high-current active power filters for chemical and metallurgical industries, and mitigation devices for load imbalance and low-voltage issues in distribution network service areas.
7. Wireless Power Transfer Technology for Electric Vehicles and Smart Grid Applications: Research on efficiency optimization, system characteristics, and dynamic charging for magnetic-field coupled wireless power transfer in electric vehicle applications within 20–30 cm; research on wireless power supply for smart online monitoring equipment over medium distances.
Research Platform
The center has a complete research and testing platform for power electronic equipment, with core experimental devices including:
- Active power filter
- High frequency transformer
- Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) system
- Solid State Transformer
- Grid-connected PV inverter
- Pulsating power supply
