152
Power Electronics Laboratory
The Power Electronics Laboratory (PEL)
of the University of Padova performs
state-of-art research in several areas of in-
dustrial and consumer power electronics.
It has been active since the early 80’s in
development of topologies and control
strategies for energy conversion. The
research group includes three full pro-
fessors, three associate professors and
one assistant professor, plus several
Ph.D. students and research fellows.
Main current research areas are the
following.
Power Device Technology
As new power devices appear, their
performance characterization becomes a
major research topic. PEL is particularly
involved with reliability studies of new
power semiconductors, i.e., SiC and GaN
power devices as well as Si-based com-
ponents.
Digital Control
Digital control of switching power supplies
is a mainstream research topic at PEL,
mainly targeting the study and develop-
ment of fast, highly optimized and inte-
gration-oriented digital controllers for
high-frequency DC/DC converters. Recent
projects focus on digital control of auto-
motive LED drivers with fast dimming
capabilities, smart power management
solutions for energy harvesting systems,
and online efficiency optimization tech-
niques for resonant topologies.
Renewable energy
Development of new converter topologies
and control techniques for full exploitation
of renewable energy sources is another
key activity, with special focus on inter-
face converters for photovoltaic genera-
tors, batteries and PEM fuel cells.
Solid State Lighting
Design of line-fed converters for lighting
is a traditional research area for PEL.
Recently, focus was on the development
of novel converter solutions for LED
lamps, in particular those based on high-
frequency resonant converters.
Smart grids
PEL participates to a multi-disciplinary
research team including experts in Power
Systems, Control, Telecom, Economics,
and Measurement. The group mission is
to perform cutting-edge research on smart
micro-grid technology, particularly on:
•
Online and optimal policies for control
of distributed micro-generation, real-
time cooperative control of active
elements, real-time power scheduling
for distributed prosumers.
•
Optimum control of distributed energy
storage to meet grid requirements
while maximizing the exploitation and
lifetime of batteries.
•
Real-time simulation and HIL testing
real-time control algorithms in the
smart micro-grid experimental facility.
•
Communication paradigms for SG
control and monitoring.
University of Padova
