November 27, 2020, Beijing – Today, the 1st IET International Workshop on IGCT and Applications kicked off online at 8 PM. The workshop, which is the first international conference focusing on IGCT and applications, was organized by Tsinghua University and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and supported by the DC Research Center of the Energy Internet Research Institute of Tsinghua University. About 50 industry experts, university faculties and students, and engineers and technicians from the US, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, China and other countries attended the workshop.
The 1st IET International Workshop on IGCT and Applications
IGCT, a new type of power electronic device, has been widely used in various fields such as industrial frequency conversion, wind power integration, rail transit since its inception in 1997, thanks to its advantages of large capacity, high reliability, low loss and low cost. In recent years, with the rapid development of DC power grids in different countries driven by new energy transmission and large-scale energy storage, high voltage and large capacity power semiconductor devices have become a key topic in academic research and industrial applications, as they are the core components of key equipment in DC backbone networks. The application of IGCT in the DC power grid is embracing new opportunities and broad prospects. In this context, Tsinghua University and IET organized this online workshop and invited 9 representative international experts in the field to share and exchange their insights.
The workshop began with a welcome speech by Rong Zeng, professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Head of the DC Center of Tsinghua University. Professor Zeng introduced the Center and described the future application concept of IGCT.
Professor Rong Zeng of Tsinghua University delivered a welcome speech and Associate Professor Biao Zhao moderated the workshop
Next, the keynote speech session was moderated by Biao Zhao, associate professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Head of the Power Conversion Research Office of the DC Center.
Professor Rik W. De Doncker of RWTH Aachen University in Germany delivered a speech on "Technology Roadmap of Gate Turn-off Thyristor Devices", which introduced the technological roadmap of gate turn-off thyristor devices.
Two experts from Hitachi ABB Power Grids, Christian Winter and Umamaheswara Vemulapati, delivered speeches on “Innovative IGCT offerings from Hitachi ABB Power Grids” and “A qualitative investigation of IGCTs in current source inverters for high current applications” respectively, which introduced the research progress of Hitachi ABB in IGCT devices and their applications.
Mr. Eric I. Carroll, who works for the French consulting firm EIC and has made remarkable contributions to the development and promotion of IGCT, delivered a speech on "Clamp Circuit Options for IGCT Circuit Enhancement" . He proposed some optimization methods for IGCT clamping circuit.
Professor Drazen Dujic from Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne (EPFL) delivered a speech on "Soft-Switching Resonant Conversion with IGCTs", which introduced the application prospects of IGCT in DC transformers and the issues to be noted.
Professor Alex Q. Huang from the University of Texas at Austin delivered a speech on "From Si to SiC Thyristor Technology", which introduced the silicon carbide thyristor technology.
Zhanqing Yu, associate professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Deputy Head of the DC Center of Tsinghua University, delivered a speech on "Application of IGCT in DC Grid". He introduced the performance of customized IGCT-Plus devices for DC grid, which were jointly developed by Tsinghua University and Zhuzhou CRRC Times. He also explained how they were applied in the key equipment of DC power grid such as converter valve, DC circuit breaker and DC energy dissipation device.
Guohong Cao, Deputy General Manager of Zhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor Co., Ltd. delivered a speech on "IGCT Development of CRRC", which introduced the latest research progress of IGCT devices by CRRC and Tsinghua University.
Dr. Dapeng Zheng from Shenzhen Hopewind Electric Co., Ltd. delivered a speech on "IGCT Based Multi-Level Converter and its Application", which introduced the R&D and application of the IGCT-based multi-level converter of Hopewind Electric.
Keynote speeches
After delivering the keynote speeches, the speakers engaged in in-depth discussions on topics, such as "advantages and disadvantages of IGCT applications in the high voltage field" and "future development trends and challenges of IGCT devices and applications". They also answered the questions from the representatives who attended the workshop.
Group photo of the participants
The workshop fostered technical exchange, viewpoint diversity, and creative thinking. The participants shared the latest research results and technological progress, discussed the problems encountered in academic research and engineering applications, and explored the development trends and challenges of IGCT.
It was agreed that, as new energy generation such as offshore wind power and flexible AC-DC transmission and distribution systems develop rapidly in the future, and the voltage and capacity of power electronic systems continue to improve, IGCT will show superior performance in high-power and low-frequency applications, and play a vital role in facilitating the clean transformation of energy structure and the energy consumption revolution.
The DC Research Center of the Energy Internet Research Institute at Tsinghua University was founded in 2015 under the guidance of Professor Rong Zeng of the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University.
The Department of Electrical Engineering has a strong scientific research strength, which the Center leverages to form a research team with high-level academic research, forward-looking technological innovations, and practical industrial development capabilities. The Center’s core mission is to conduct R&D of key technologies and equipment for DC power transmission and distribution. It focuses on the HVDC power transmission and medium and low-voltage DC power distribution technology to carry out theoretical research, technological breakthroughs and engineering construction at device, equipment, and system levels. The Center aims to become the core concept disseminator, theoretical and technological leader, standard and application practitioner of DC power grid, preparing for the renewable energy revolution.
