Keynote Speakers
Prof. Li Ran
Fellow, IEEE & Fellow, IET
University of Warwick, UK & Huairou Laboratory, China & Chongqing
University, China
Bio - Li Ran received his PhD in
Electrical Engineering from Chongqing University in 1989 and participated in
the commissioning of the Gezhouba–Nanqiao HVDC system in China. He spent
seven years in the UK as a research fellow at the Universities of Aberdeen,
Nottingham, and Heriot-Watt, working on marine electrical propulsion,
offshore electrical systems, and EMC in drives.
In 1999, he became a Lecturer at the University of Northumbria and later
moved to Durham University, where he was appointed Chair in 2010. He joined
the University of Warwick as Professor of Power Electronics in 2012 and
currently splits his time between Warwick and Chongqing. His recent research
focuses on power electronics for renewable generation and smart grids, and
on the reliability of power semiconductors. He has also been seconded to
Alstom Power Conversion, undertaken a sabbatical at MIT, and is currently
seconded to Huairou Laboratory in Beijing.
Li is Co-Director of the Warwick–Chongqing Joint Key Laboratory in SiC Power
Electronics. He has received a Global Research Award from the Royal Academy
of Engineering, the Stanley-Gray Award from IMarEST, and IEEE Prize Paper
Awards. In 2024, he was presented the Collaboration Commemoration Award by
CRRC. He is an IEEE Fellow, IET Fellow, and a Chartered Engineer in the UK.
Title of Speech: Power Semiconductor Devices for Modern Grids:
Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract: Power
electronic systems are increasingly deployed in transmission and
distribution grids to support a range of low-carbon objectives. These
systems include MMC HVDC links, solid-state transformers (SSTs), solid-state
circuit breakers, fault current limiters, converters for microgrids and
hybrid AC/DC networks, and unified power flow or current controllers. To
achieve critical low-carbon goals, it is essential that power electronic
systems are reliable, efficient, and cost-effective. This requirement poses
significant challenges for the development of power semiconductor devices,
which largely determine overall system performance.
This presentation reviews the requirements of grid applications for
high-voltage, high-current power semiconductor devices and examines the
challenges involved in developing such devices for converter designs.
Comparisons will be made between silicon IGBTs, IGCTs and silicon carbide
(SiC) MOSFETs, with their relative advantages assessed in representative
applications. Sensitivity analyses will be presented to identify key device
characteristics that will drive future development. The feasibility of
achieving these characteristics will be discussed from the perspectives of
device design, fabrication, and packaging.
Furthermore, the operational modes of power semiconductors in circuit
breakers and emerging grid-forming converters will be explored, along with
potential approaches to realizing them. The presentation aims to propose
strategies to advance the performance and applicability of power
semiconductor devices in modern low-carbon grids.
More speakers to be announced......
