Ke Ma (S’09-M’11-SM’18) received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the Zhejiang University, China in 2007 and 2010 respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree from the Aalborg University, Denmark in 2013, where he became an Assistant Professor in 2014. In 2016 he joined the faculty of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China as a tenure-track Research Professor, and is now serving as the deputy director for Key Laboratory of Control of Power Transmission and Conversion, Ministry of Education, China.
His current research interests include the power electronics and its reliability in the application of renewable energy, HVDC, and motor drive systems. He is now serving as Co-EiC for IEEE Transaction on Industry Applications, Associate Editor for two IEEE Transaction journals, and Vice Chair for two IEEE Technical Committees. He was the receiver of “Excellent Young Wind Doctor Award 2014” by European Academy of Wind Energy, “Outstanding Youth Award 2022” by China Power Supply Society, and several prized paper awards by IEEE.

Abstract – Nowadays the working conditions or mission profiles of power electronics are becoming intensive and complicated in various applications. In order to ensure cost-effectiveness with more confidence on the safety and reliability performances, it is important to understand the loading and failure behaviors, as well as the limits of components/systems in practical use. Under this scenario, the recreation of real-field loading and control behaviors for power electronics componernts and systems, are essential, and thus calling for more advanced testing and monitoring methodologies. This talk targets to give updates on the progress of mission profile emulation (MPE) technology in the field of power electronics. The concept, challenges, new applications in the field of MPE, will be covered and disscussed.

Prof. Philippe Ladoux was born in 1963. He received his engineering degree from the Institute of Engineering “ENSEEIHT” of Toulouse in 1987 and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the “Institut National Polytechnique” of Toulouse, France in 1992. In 1994, he joined the Static Converters Research Group at LAPLACE (Laboratory of Plasma and Energy Conversion ) in Toulouse, for which he was Manager from 2001 to 2009. He is currently Professor at the “Institute of Engineering “ENSEEIHT” in Toulouse where he teaches Power Electronics. His research interests are Multilevel Converters for High Power Applications. The fields of application are Railway Electric Traction as well as Medium and High Voltage Power Systems. Prof. Philippe Ladoux has a strong experience of collaborative research with academic and industrial partners both at national and international levels. He is also involved in the steering committees of the international conferences SPEEDAM and ESARS and in the board of directors of PCIM Europe.

Abstract – Rail is one of the most energy-efficient modes of transport and the lowest emitter of greenhouse gases. Rail is also the most electrified transport sector: three-quarters of passenger travel and half of transported freight is done on electrified lines. According to a 2019 International Energy Agency report, while rail carries 8% of global passenger transport and 7% of freight transport, its energy consumption represents only 2% of total energy demand of the transport sector. High-speed rail is an alternative to short-distance flights between main cities. Rail freight transport is particularly efficient over long distances as it provides a low-emission and low-cost solution in supply chains. In the years to come, rail will play a key role in accelerating the transition to more sustainable mobility.
Nowadays in the world, the distribution of electrified railway routes is as follows: DC° (1.5 kV or 3 kV): °90,000 km; MVAC 15 kV/16.7 Hz: 37,000 km; MVAC 25 kV/50 Hz: 120,000 km. The increase in rail traffic must be accompanied by an improvement in the energy efficiency of the electrification system. This requires the implementation of different power electronic solutions depending on whether the network is electrified in DC or AC. This keynote will first present a state of the art of the main electrification systems and power converters that are used: unbalance compensator, reactive power compensator, power conditioner for 25 kV/50 Hz lines. Frequency changer for 15 kV, 16.7 Hz lines. Reversible substation and storage system for DC electrified lines. The second part of the keynote will be dedicated to the future solutions: full-electronic power supply for 25 kV/50 Hz lines, three-wire power supply for DC lines, MVDC electrification system and introduction of renewable sources.

Frede Blaabjerg (S’86–M’88–SM’97–F’03) was with ABB-Scandia, Randers, Denmark, from 1987 to 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he got the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering at Aalborg University in 1995. He became an Assistant Professor in 1992, an Associate Professor in 1996, and a Full Professor of power electronics and drives in 1998 at AAU Energy. From 2017 he became a Villum Investigator. He is honoris causa at University Politehnica Timisoara (UPT), Romania in 2017 and Tallinn Technical University (TTU), Estonia in 2018.
His current research interests include power electronics and its applications such as in wind turbines, PV systems, reliability, Power-2-X, power quality and adjustable speed drives. He has published more than 600 journal papers in the fields of power electronics and its applications. He is the co-author of eight monographs and editor of fourteen books in power electronics and its applications.
He has received 38 IEEE Prize Paper Awards, the IEEE PELS Distinguished Service Award in 2009, the EPE-PEMC Council Award in 2010, the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award 2014, the Villum Kann Rasmussen Research Award 2014, the Global Energy Prize in 2019 and the 2020 IEEE Edison Medal. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS from 2006 to 2012. He has been Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Power Electronics Society from 2005 to 2007 and for the IEEE Industry Applications Society from 2010 to 2011 as well as 2017 to 2018. In 2019-2020 he served as a President of IEEE Power Electronics Society. He has been Vice-President of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences. He is nominated in 2014-2021 by Thomson Reuters to be between the most 250 cited researchers in Engineering in the world.

Abstract – The world is becoming more and more electrified combined with that the consumption is steadily increasing – at the same time there is a large transition of power generation from fossil fuel to renewable energy based which all together challenges the modern power system but also gives many opportunities. We see also now big steps being taken to electrify the transportation – both better environment as well as higher efficiency are driving factors. One of the most important technologies to move this forward is the power electronics technology which has been emerging for decades and still challenges are seen in the technology and the applications it is used. This presentation will be a little forward looking (Quo Vadis) in some exciting research areas in order further to improve the technology and the systems it is used in. Following main topics will be discussed

• The evolution of power devices
• Renewable Generation and its Power Electronics
• Power Electronic based Power System stability

David Perreault received the B.S. degree from Boston University and the S.M. and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in Electrical Engineering. He is presently the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT. His research interests include design, manufacturing, and control techniques for power electronic systems and components, and in their use in a wide range of applications. Dr. Perreault is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the IEEE and the recipient of numerous awards including the IEEE R. David Middlebrook Achievement Award for his work in power electronics. He is co-author of sixteen IEEE prize papers in the area, and of the textbook “Principles of Power Electronics, 2nd Edition” (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Dr. Perreault also co-founded startup companies Eta Devices (acquired by Nokia in 2016) and Eta Wireless (acquired by Murata in 2021).

Abstract – Recent advances have opened the door to power electronics operating at high frequencies (HF, 3-30 MHz) and above. In addition to improving power density and bandwidth in traditional power electronics applications, HF power conversion techniques can advance industrial radio-frequency (rf) applications such as plasma generation for semiconductor processing. This talk describes some recent developments in multi-kW power electronics operating at HF. Inverters and switched-mode matching techniques are described that can efficiently provide rf power into highly variable loads over a wide power range with high control bandwidth. We describe a 13.56 MHz inverter that maintains high efficiency over a 5 W to 5 kW power range with microsecond-scale response speed. A switched-mode tunable matching technique that can transform a wide range of load impedances to 50 Ohms with microsecond-scale response is also described, and a 1.5 kW, 13.56 MHz system is presented. Techniques for realizing high-power, high-frequency cored inductors are also introduced, and illustrated with a self-shielded 500 nH inductor rated for 80 A / 3.4 kV with a Q of 1100 at 13.56 MHz. These techniques hold promise for advancing frequency and performance of power electronics in many applications.