FOR²ENSICS project

The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate a commercial low voltage to medium voltage bidirectional DC/DC converter prototype which can be introduced to the market within a short timescale: less than 3 years. To achieve such an ambitious target, the project team has decided to focus on the development of ultra-high voltage (UHV) SiC-based switching devices which will make it possible to significantly simplify the converter topology and create a very compact design when coupled with high frequency operation. For this purpose, the project aims to design, fabricate and test 15 kV SiC IGBTs modules, as well as series connected SiC MOSFETs.

Another major target of the project is to understand reliability issues affecting different converter components such as UHV switching devices, passive components, and medium frequency transformers associated with high switching frequency and high voltage environments.

SuperGrid Institute’s contribution

The project will start in January 2023. SuperGrid Institute will be participating in 7 of the project’s 8 Work Packages and will lead 2 of them: the work packages on the “Use case and requirements definition” and the “DC/DC Converter Demonstrator”.

SuperGrid Institute will be investigating and supervising the activities related to the converter prototyping and the medium frequency transformer. The converter will act as a test bench for the semiconductor devices and the Medium Frequency Transformer (MFT) will be built in SuperGrid Institute’s premises with help from EPFL. The converter specifications will be defined by SuperGrid Institute and will be as close as possible to those found in the environments of its potential applications.

This projects has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.