Cooperative Agreement DEAR0000212

Coolcad Electronics, LLC received a $200,000 Project Grant award from the Department of Energy Office of Science on June 27, 2022 to support development of low-cost hybrid SiC/GaN-based single-stage microinverters with integrated planar magnetics technology. The project aims to deliver this technology by March 26, 2023. The award is being made through the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA #81.049), which supports basic research to deliver scientific discoveries and tools...

This $270,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports the development of grid-forming inverter technologies to advance the energy transition and increase renewable energy grid integration. A joint team from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Central Florida will optimize grid-forming voltage control, develop advanced three-port microinverters with black start and islanded operation capabilities, and design innovative...

The National Science Foundation awarded a $280,000 Project Grant to the University of Texas at Austin under the Engineering (47.041) federal grant program. The award will support research and development of grid-forming inverter technologies to advance the energy transition and increase renewable energy grid integration. Key deliverables include optimization of grid-forming voltage control loops; development of advanced functionalities for three-port microinverters integrating solar, storage and...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Project Grant, titled "ASCENT: ULTRA-COMPACT PV MICROINVERTERS WITH INTEGRATED ACTIVE POWER DECOUPLING", will provide $1,500,000 in funding from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2027. The project aims to develop transformative solar micro-inverters enabled by innovative circuit topologies, control techniques, sensors, and electro-thermal co-design. Key innovations include single-stage...

Mission Power Corp. was awarded a $206,500 Project Grant from the Department of Energy Office of Science under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA 81.049) to develop a low-cost, high frequency inverter for utility-scale photovoltaic systems. The grant will support Mission Power Corp.'s work to design and test a prototype inverter at its Potsdam, New York facility between June 2022 and March 2023. By funding this research and development effort, the DOE aims to advance...

This three-year, $144,994 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering program aims to develop a cyber resilient virtual power plant network for growing power demands. Specifically, the award supports designing and implementing a 5G-enabled smart artificial intelligence-based microinverter for a pole-mounted solar power system with energy storage. This virtual power plant will be connected to low-voltage distribution networks and...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program awarded a $135,956 project grant to South Dakota State University (SDSU) to develop a highly efficient, modular, and scalable power system that integrates photovoltaic, energy storage, and smart micro-inverter technologies. The goal is to create a novel power conversion system architecture and control capabilities to enable greater penetration of solar energy into the electric grid and support grid stability and resilience. The key...

The University of South Florida received a $350,000 project grant award from the National Science Foundation to develop dynamic model identification techniques for inverter-based distributed energy resources. Funded under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), this three-year award running from May 2021 through April 2024 aims to improve understanding and control of inverters that interface distributed generation systems such as solar panels to the electric grid. By advancing inverter...

This three-year, $110,851 project grant from the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering program aims to develop a cyber resilient 5G-enabled virtual power system to address growing power demands. Specifically, the awardee, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, will design and implement a smart artificial intelligence-based microinverter for pole-mounted solar power systems with energy storage, connected to low-voltage distribution networks. Data from the...

This $36,034,716 federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Grid Infrastructure Deployment and Resilience (CFDA 81.254) program will fund a partnership between the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and a host transmission utility. The project aims to install an Automatic Power Factor Controller (APFC) device, the SmartValve, at an interregional grid tie to reduce tap changes and increase the control range of a Phase Shifting Transformer (PST) across a regional...