In a future interconnected electrical grid that is predominantly fed from renewable generators, offshore wind farms will have to take over the role of today's power plants as large generators. To do this, they must work in a grid-forming or grid-supporting capacity. In this project, the requirements for offshore wind farms that are connected to the interconnected grid via high-voltage direct current transmission (HVDC) will be considered in the short time range ... more

High-Performance HVDC is a research project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action aimed at improving the efficiency of converters for high-voltage direct current transmission. The greatest lever for both improving efficiency and reducing investment costs of HVDC converters is ... more

The DisrupSys project aims to research and develop angle-based interconnected grid operation in converter-dominated energy supply systems while maintaining the active and reactive power balance. The focus is on how the interconnected grid can be transformed ... more

LHUVkraft is a project funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action aimed at increasing the power density of converters for wind turbines.
The trend towards higher power levels in wind turbines is unbroken. This is the only way to achieve expansion targets and the required reduction in the cost of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, particularly onshore where available locations are limited. As tower height and power increase, current turbine designs incorporate the transformer and the entire power electronics into the nacelle …more

The project focuses on improving the efficiency of self-commutated HVDC converters. This involves researching novel silicon IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) and diodes in the voltage class of 3.3 kV to 6.5 kV, their integration into HVDC power modules, and innovative control concepts. ... more

At the University of Rostock, new testing procedures are being designed for the pilot lines, aimed at both reflecting future applications and reducing the testing effort. The goal is to replace the optical inspection of solder joints with electrical tests to achieve faster and more accurate testing. During this process, the test object will be heated through switching losses to enable rapid testing at operating temperature ... more

The energy transition on the generation side and the technological shift on the consumption side are leading to a deterioration of the stability of the electrical interconnected grid in various areas.

The highly fluctuating input from renewable generators endangers the balance between generated and consumed power – this becomes ... more

As part of the OTC Thruster project, which falls under the innovation field of OTC Subsea Mobility & Autonomy, a quiet and low-vibration hubless drive system will be researched and tested. This task arises partly due to the highly sensitive sensors installed on underwater vehicles, which can be disturbed by hydroacoustic noise ... more

The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency of converters for wind turbines, particularly in partial load conditions. Compared to the current state of the art, the project seeks to reduce the switching losses of power semiconductors, their conduction losses at low current, and the losses in inductors. ... more

Due to the globally increasing energy demand, a growing use of renewable energy is necessary to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Efficient power semiconductors are needed for energy conversion, which is why the markets for IGBTs and modules are growing by about 15% annually. The most competitive IGBTs are based on 300mm silicon wafers, offering more than 1700 volts and higher power density. ... more