Research

Research areas

Why direct current, the three areas we work on, and how an idea goes from simulation to tested hardware.

Why direct current

Solar panels and batteries supply direct current. Electric vehicles, data centres and modern electronics run on it.

A grid built only for alternating current converts that power back and forth, and every conversion loses energy. We work on the DC grids that skip those steps.

Three research areas

The technology a DC grid needs to work at scale.

  • Power electronics

    We design and analyse high-efficiency solid-state power converters: the routers that manage the power flows in a DC grid with minimal losses.

  • Grid stability

    Renewable sources come and go. We research and implement control algorithms, such as droop control, that keep a DC grid stable.

  • Grid codes and protection

    Equipment from different makers has to work together safely. We contribute to international grid codes, standards and fast fault protection.

From theory to reality

Every idea goes through the same three steps before we publish it.

  1. Simulate and model

    We simulate the topology and its control loops first, to prove the idea before any hardware is touched.

  2. Build the converter

    We design custom PCBs and assemble the converters, and solve real problems such as heat and parasitic inductance.

  3. Test and validate

    In the lab we test the converters under load and check the models against what we measure.

DC Domestic Appliances

The mobile DC kitchen is one of our projects with ATAG Benelux B.V. We built it in the project DC Domestic Appliances, supported by RVO and other company partners.

Students worked on DC appliances too: Hugo van Essen on several, among them a DC coffee machine.

The ATAG mobile DC kitchen on show at a fair
The mobile DC kitchen, built with ATAG Benelux.

Photo needed: someone cooking on the ATAG DC kitchen1600 × 1200 · example photo shown

The ATAG DC kitchen in use · example photo for now

Photo needed: the DC coffee machine Hugo van Essen worked on1600 × 1200 · example photo shown

The DC coffee machine, Hugo van Essen · example photo for now

Combining our power

Students of every level work beside the researchers on the same projects.

MBO
Practical craft: precise soldering, safe assembly of power cabinets and hardware troubleshooting.
HBO
Applied research: PCB design, microcontroller programming, simulation and system integration.
Master
Theory: mathematical models, advanced control algorithms and new converter topologies.

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