Project Grant DESC0020859

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $182,265 to Lehigh University to investigate a novel high-current conversion technology to support various distributed energy resource (DER) applications. The project aims to develop a modular, multiphase, interleaved high-current conversion system leveraging wide bandgap semiconductor devices. Key focus areas include high-efficiency resonant circuits, integrated magnetic coupling, and...

This Project Grant award, funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), aims to improve the size and efficiency of buck-boost power converters. The $433,286 award, granted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), leverages advancements in wide-bandgap semiconductor technology and capacitor-based topologies to develop a framework of condensed buck-boost converters capable of dramatically increased power density and efficiency. This work will...

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...

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...

The Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy awarded a $3,274,432 Cooperative Agreement under the Conservation Research and Development (CFDA 81.086) program to Western Michigan University. The objective of this 26-month project is to develop a 150 kilowatt traction power charger-inverter system with galvanic isolation capability. The university will conduct research and development to advance this multi-input integrated smart charger-inverter system, which can...

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE) awarded a $9,145,394 Cooperative Agreement to Portland General Electric Company to demonstrate grid services using a combination of grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) inverter-based renewable technologies at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Oregon. The 3-year project, which commenced on October 1, 2023, will integrate GFM control into a portion of the existing wind and battery...

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...

This $400,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports research at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to develop novel bidirectional high-power DC-DC onboard electric vehicle battery chargers with ultra-high power density and scalability operating over 1 megahertz. The research aims to address key gaps including designing and demonstrating 1.2 kilovolt gallium nitride field-effect transistors for high-frequency power converters operating over 800 volts and 1...

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), a program under the Department of Energy, has awarded a $500,000 Project Grant to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska (University of Nebraska) under CFDA Program 81.135. The grant funding will support the University of Nebraska's development of a first-of-its-kind 10 kV high-frequency press-pack (HFPP) silicon carbide MOSFET module, referred to as "METAPAK." This module is intended to enable novel high-frequency HVDC...

The Department of Energy's Office of Science awarded a $199,800 Project Grant under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA 81.049) to Fastwatt LLC, a small for-profit limited liability company based in Clifton Park, New York. The grant, awarded on July 22, 2024, supports research and development of a compact solar direct-to-medium-voltage grid interface using silicon carbide and high-frequency magnetics. This research project aims to advance scientific discoveries and...