An Ohio State professor has received a $2.2 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to support her work in improving the efficiency of power electronics.
The three-year project is one of 12 awarded a total of $35 million in federal funding through DOE’s Advanced Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) OPEN+ program. It aims to discover new ways of harnessing medium-voltage electricity for applications in industry, transportation, on the grid and more, which could greatly improve efficiency and reliability across most of the U.S. economy.
Hongping Zhao, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and materials science and engineering, will lead the project in which Buckeye engineers will develop gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor materials suitable for high-voltage (15 to 20 kilovolt) power control and conversion. These materials hold the promise of being more efficient as well as smaller and lighter than current devices.
“Currently the market uses mainly silicon for power semiconductors, which becomes much less efficient as power demands increase. Semiconductors based on GaN show great promise to meet the requirements for high-power, high-temperature and high-frequency applications,” said principal investigator Hongping Zhao, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and materials science and engineering.
It’s estimated that as much as 80% of electricity could pass through power electronics between generation and consumption by 2030. Advances in power electronics promise enormous energy efficiency gains throughout the U.S. economy, Zhao explained. The Ohio State engineers’ project is ambitious—the highest reported breakdown voltage achieved for this material system so far is around 5 kilovolts.
“America’s energy landscape is constantly evolving, and as new ways to generate and distribute power gain popularity, it’s critical we develop the tools to maximize their utility,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. “These ARPA‑E projects serve first and foremost to modernize how we move power around safely, reliably and efficiently, creating a new set of capabilities for tomorrow’s utilities and industry.”