researchers at the university of arkansas (fayetteville) have received $3.2 million from the u.s. department of energy advanced research projects agency – energy to speed up development of two projects on efficient, lightweight, and reliable power converters, according to a report from the university.

researchers will develop efficient power converters. (wikimedia commons)

the funding will help the research team reduce the size and complexity of power converters, which are used to control and condition electrical power in a system. as part of the arpa-e creating innovative and reliable circuit using inventive topologies and semiconductors (circuits) project, the researchers will work with wide-bandgap semiconductor technology and new materials such as silicon-carbide and gallium-nitride.

the first project, which received the bulk of the funding, is “reliable, high power density inverters for heavy equipment applications.” according to the report, “this project focuses on developing a 2-by-250 kilowatt, dual-power inverter system for use in the electrification of heavy equipment and other, higher-volume transportation vehicles, such as trucks and buses.”

using advanced thermal management, the team will build silicon-carbide-based power electronics that are highly-efficient while increasingly power-dense. “the goal is to make the power density of the inverter four times greater than current technology and to reduce converter cost by 50 percent,” the report added.

the second project will be led by a team at the university of illinois at urbana-champaign. it is “enabling ultra-compact, lightweight, efficient, and reliable 6.6 kw on-board bi-directional electric vehicle charging with advanced topology and control.”

“this project will develop an on-board electric vehicle charger,” the report continued, “using a high-density conversion technology known as a flying capacitor multi-level converter. this converter reduces charging time while also servicing the vehicle’s auxiliary loads to maximize overall system utilization.”

using gallium-nitride, the researchers will produce a 6.6-kilowatt converter that has 15 times the power density of current converters, but will also be lighter.