Vehicle Power Electronics Research
The Vehicle Power Electronics Research (VPER) Group provides science and technology innovations in power electronic converters for use with vehicular applications including land, sea, undersea, rail, aerial, and space vehicles; including the medium and heavy-duty and off road vehicles. From concept to implementation and real world evaluations, VPER Group targets transformational broad-based research that impacts affordable clean energy solutions for transportation applications. One of the core search areas of VPER is electric vehicle charging systems that includes power electronics and electromagnetic designs, developments, and demonstrations. VPER works on every aspect of vehicle charging systems including high-frequency power electronics, electromagnetics, vehicle systems integration, control systems development, and grid and power systems integration along with close collaborations with other ORNL organizations including Electric Drives Research Group, Power Electronics Systems Integration Group, and several others including Spallation Neutron Source, Material Science, and Manufacturing Science areas. In collaboration with other groups, VPER also works on non-vehicular power electronics applications including grid, renewable energy, energy storage, RF, and other applications where power electronic converters and power supplies are needed. The Vehicle Power Electronics Research Group’s laboratories (Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Research Center) are located at the National Transportation Research Center, which is designated as a DOE User Facility along with other lab spaces located within the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C). The designation encourages collaborative efforts between the VPER group, industry, and academia. The most advanced analysis, simulation, and design software is available to the VPER staff to implement state-of-the art circuit and motor designs. Laboratories provide a broad-based capability and an extensive list of equipment including grid emulators and AC power supplies and loads as well as DC and battery emulators and power supplies along with high-precision / high-accuracy measurement devices and instrumentations to build and evaluate power conversion circuit prototypes in-house starting from bare die and evaluating them. VPER has been leading several DOE and industry funded projects and partners with industry and academia on multiple projects.