EECS Congratulations to…

• Stefanie Heinig who received ”Outstanding Young EPE Member Award”
at EPE conferens (largest in Europe and one of the three largest in the world in our area).

Short about the paper:
A full-scale prototype of a new submodule with advanced functionalities has been built and experimentally investigated. This submodule can be used in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converters to enable future meshed DC grids. It was the first time that a certain phenomenon within the submodule (the oscillating redistribution currents) has been studied in a full-scale laboratory experiment. The measurement results made it possible to identify the circuit parameters of a realistic implementation. Knowing these parameters is fundamentally important for the further evaluation and practical operation of the submodule in a real HVDC converter.

From a theoretical and technical point of view it is not too far away from an application. However, reliability and cost are key factors for the application in the power system. This has to be further investigated by and together with industry.

The findings from my contribution can be used in the field of electrical power systems as well as power electronics and its application in grids. The findings are highly relevant for manufacturers of HVDC transmission systems and also for utilities and transmission system operators.

The results presented in the paper will increase the confidence in this submodule technology. All the converter aspects that I study in the context of my PhD project aim to facilitate renewable electricity generation and its integration into the system in order to make the transition towards a fossil free society faster.

• Giovanni Zanuso, received best paper award
at ICEMS, which is one of the important conferences of the electrical machines area.

Short about the paper:
Industrial automation has been recently challenged by new initiatives such as Industry 4.0, which promises higher connectivity between the devices in an industrial plant. The goal of this work is to discuss how electric drives, widely employed in industry, could benefit from this increased connectivity.
Specific applications, such as condition monitoring and multi-drive systems, are considered to show the advantages of the industrial network presence, combined with the introduction of new data driven methods. Moreover, the status of industrial communication technologies is depicted, and their suitability for condition monitoring and multi-drive systems applications is described.

• Fabian Hohn received ”Best Student paper award”
at IEEE conference: SmartgridComm 2018.