Power electronics is part of numerous applications supplied by electricity such as ICT but also more recently mobility and air conditioning. It is also a key element in efficient renewable energy production. Power electronics is also essential in most efficient electricity storage systems such as batteries, fuel cells but also inertia wheels… Constraints and challenges related to these applications are defining the research topics, targets our team is dedicated to tackle.
With the environmental burden of our modern societies, new constraints are arising with the objectives the minimize the environmental impacts of power electronics. Forever developed and improved to maximize performances, power electronics needs now to comply with new characteristics such as high circularity, lower manufacture and end of life environmental impact. The converters are no more optimized mainly for the usage phase but over the entire life cycle, taking into account, in addition to CO2 emissions and energy payback, several important environmental impact categories. Next generation of power electronics converters, used in most applications, will have to be more reparable, more reusable, with the objective to retain the value in the value chain. The team is involved in several European project, with multiple industry partners to address this in several applications fields.