Alstom signs cooperation agreement with Chinas Tsinghua University to develop power converters
Alstom signs cooperation agreement with Chinas Tsinghua University to develop power converters
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Laurent Demortier, Senior Vice-President of Alstom Energy Management Business, and Charles Soothill, Senior Vice-President Technology, Alstom Power, have signed a collaborative R&D agreement with Professor Yongdong Li, head of the Tsinghua Universitys Power Electronics and Motor Control laboratory (PEMC), China.
The event took place on 14 April 2010 at the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The goal of this R&D programme is to develop a new generation of power converters for improved power efficiency and power quality of generation assets, focusing on the development of a new control module adapted to the converters using the latest IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor).
As a result of the R&D program, a converter prototype is expected to be delivered in April 2012. Within the framework of this collaboration, Tsinghua University will provide the power converter design and control. The prototype will be built at an Alstom research centre and will be validated by Alstom for future new products in collaboration with PEMC.
The first targeted application will be a converter for a 1.5/3 MW wind power generator. This type of converter will be able to provide continuous operation of the system during severe grid transient, with enhanced capability to support an electrical grid by producing reactive power, hence bringing increased security and flexibility to the management of wind energy.
Tsinghua, a leading Chinese university, has a long history of expertise as a polytechnic engineering university and has set up a number of R&D laboratories specialised in the energy sector (power systems, power conversion, clean energy, etc.).
This partnership allows Alstom Energy Management Business to benefit from Tsinghua Universitys expertise and knowledge of converter technologies in Chinas renewable energy market. PEMC in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University offers first-class research capabilities in power electronics. The PEMC laboratory has been developing converters for lower range wind generators since 2005. It has also been a key incubator for power conversion systems in China.
1A power converter is a system dedicated to the conversion of electrical energy, whether from AC to DC, or in voltage or frequency.
2The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device, used to switch electric power in modern electric systems, designed to rapidly alternate turning on and off.
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