Engineering Excellence: PCIM 2024 Honors Top Research

The 2024 Power Conversion and Intelligent Motion (PCIM) conference in Nuremberg, Germany, showcases innovations, trends, and developments in four exhibition halls with more than 620 exhibitors. Kicking off the three-day conference was an awards ceremony recognizing noteworthy research papers and promising young talent in the power electronics industry.

The power electronics industry has been meeting in Nuremberg, Germany, since 1979, and, beginning in 2008, the PCIM Europe Conference has presented awards to honor talent within the industry. There are three Best Paper Awards, one Young Engineer Award, and one Young Researcher Award. With more than 500 submissions, the competition was tough. A jury chose the top papers based on topicality, relevance, and quality.

Dr. Leo Lorenz, chair of the PCIM Europe Advisory Board, presented the awards. This year's conference sponsors were Littelfuse, Mitsubishi Electric, and Semikron Danfoss. In addition to the significant prestige of the awards, the winners will each receive a prize of €1,000.

PCIM awards. Image used courtesy of Mesago Messe Frankfurt GmbH/Arturo Rivas

PCIM 2024 Winners

The three Best Paper Awards winners are: 

• Bhaskar Chatterjee and Robert Bosch, Germany. A Partial Load Three-Phase Triangular Current Mode Modulation Concept with an Optimized Filter Inductor for High-Efficiency Traction Drives 

The research presents an optimized inductor design with high power density and low power loss. It focuses on the inverter’s AC node in the TCM filter inductor’s design.  

• Michael Hanf, University of Bremen, Germany. Corrosion Resistant Packaging for Power Semiconductor Modules—Modified Insulation Materials for Contaminated Environments 

This study demonstrates modified insulation materials to inhibit corrosion products in power semiconductor devices. The innovation is designed to increase the robustness of IBGT modules against corrosion by contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide.

• Dennis Helmut, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany. Characterization of Power-Module Parasitics: Sub-Nanosecond Large Signal Pulsing vs. Double-Pulse Testing

The paper outlines two methodologies for evaluating parasitics in power modules. The first is sensor gap TLP (sgTLP), which uses time-domain reflectometry with pulses mirroring power electronics conditions. The second is double-pulse testing (DPT). The study uses DPT as a reference for validating and complementing the sgTLP results for module optimization.

The Young Engineer Award was specifically created to recognize engineers younger than 30 years old. This year’s winner:

•  Adriana Campos, SuperGrid Institute, France. CO₂ Footprint of Medium Voltage DC Solid State Transformer

The study proposes a methodology for assessing a DC solid-state transformer’s environmental impact. The method uses life cycle analysis and estimates the transformer’s emissions at different operating frequencies. The findings support carbon neutrality goals and renewable energy integration.

The Young Researcher Award recognizes an author 30 years old or younger affiliated with a science and research institution. This year’s winner is:

•  Andreas Horat, ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Highly-Compact Bearingless Axial-Flux Motor for a Pediatric Implantable Fontan Blood Pump

ETH Zurich, the University of Innsbruck, and the Medical University of Vienna are collaborating to develop a pediatric implantable rotary blood pump (RBP). The RBP uses a small bearingless dual-stator axial-flux PMSM, which provides 2.2 mNm of torque at a 5,500 rpm rotational speed. The paper examines the bearing force generation and the sensors used to estimate the accurate position. The study demonstrates stable levitation control on a hardware prototype.

The PCIM Europe Conference is a global hub for top industry experts in power electronics and specialized fields like energy storage and e-mobility. This event showcases the latest technological trends and spans the entire industry value chain, from manufacturing and components to cutting-edge applications. A conference highlight is the over 350 technical presentations delivered by R&D departments from leading universities and corporations worldwide. This year, PCIM Europe was held from 11-13 June 2024.