Page 9 - PowerUp 2021 Conference Proceedings for PEN
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THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
Where Renewables, Energy
Storage, and Power Grids
Stand in the Future of
Energy
By Majeed Ahmad, editor-in-chief of EDN and Planet Analog
Renewables, energy storage, and power grids are part of the equation for the future, where green
energy will replace the aging electrical infrastructure around the globe. A panel discussion at the
PowerUP Expo aimed to get around this highly important and equally vast subject with the help of
prominent experts in the power industry.
Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio, editor-in-chief of Power Electronics News, welcomed the panel and set
the course of the discussion about the future of energy after briefly introducing the panelists.
Steve Lambouses, vice president of
high-voltage power at Texas Instruments,
kicked off the discussion by acknowledging
that wide-bandgap (WBG) materials like
silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride
(GaN) are driving higher levels of power
efficiency and density. He further noted
that while there is a lot of information
SiC MOSFETs will be crucial in smart-grid inverters. on the role these WBG materials play in
(Source: STMicroelectronics)
vehicle electrification, the same is not true
regarding smart-grid designs.
Filippo Di Giovanni, business unit manager at STMicroelectronics, explained how WBG materials
are beneficial in terms of form factor as well as the smaller size of passive components at higher
frequencies. While talking about inverters for smart-grid applications, in which 1,200-V to 1,700-V
switches are required, Di Giovanni said that SiC MOSFETs are critical.
Another vital issue brought forward during this panel discussion was monitoring the power in
high-voltage transmission lines. Conor Power, director of green energy solutions at Analog Devices,
pointed out that protective relays, which trip circuit breakers if power is too high, are usually
battery-powered or line-powered. That puts more pressure on the power budget.
FEBRUARY 2022 | www.powerelectronicsnews.com 53
