A panel of esteemed international experts will gather at the upcoming CWIEME Chicago exhibition to answer questions on power electronics and its potential risks and benefits for the future of conventional coil winding and electrical manufacturing industries.
CWIEME Chicago is widely regarded as more than just a tradeshow, rather a unique opportunity for engineers, academics and business leaders from across the North American coil winding, insulation and electrical manufacturing landscape to come together and discuss the most important subjects affecting these industries today. This year’s event – happening Tuesday September 30 and Wednesday October 1 at the DE Stephens Convention Center in Chicago – will start as it means to go on with a brunch briefing from a panel of six international experts in the fields of transformer, electric motor and generator manufacturing. The topic for discussion will be the threats and opportunities generated by power electronics.
“The potential threat of solid state transformers has been an important discussion topic over the past few years,” says Daniel Fernandez, coordinator of the EU SPEED project and CTO of INAEL Electrical Systems. “Transformer is actually a bit of a misleading name for these devices since they allow you to handle energy in all parameters – change the phase, frequency, current and voltage – with fewer losses and much more control and protection. They are more of a complete energy router. As such, they are far more sophisticated than conventional transformers and will be in direct competition with them once they start to take off in the next four to five years.”
Solid state transformers, the same as any other power electronic devices, cannot be manufactured using the same processes or materials as conventional electronic devices since they must be able to withstand far higher currents and voltages. This has implications not only for manufacturers, regarding market demand and production, but also for the supply chain. Fernandez’s EU SPEED project, for example, aims to substitute the use of silicon in electronic devices with more durable silicon carbide – a possible change which manufacturers and suppliers alike should be aware of if they are to stay ahead of the curve.
1% threat, 99% opportunity
“Solid state transformers, however, are the only power electronic devices I can think of that would compete with existing technology – and still not in all areas, such as in a rural environment where a high degree of control is not required and investment in complex equipment might not be worth it. For every other application, in electric motors or generators, I only see opportunities – to make things smaller, faster and more efficient,” he says.
Beyond the transformer sector, power electronics in the form of variable frequency drives (VFDs) are used to change the speed of rotation a wide variety of appliances, from washing machines to wind power generators. “Power electronics open up opportunities that we had never even thought of 20 years ago,” adds Fernandez.
Fernandez will be joined on the CWIEME brunch briefing panel by:
– Dr. Alex Huang, Process Energy Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, FREEDM Systems Center, North Caroline State University.
– Rick Hoadley, Principal Consulting Applications Engineer at ABB.
– James Tabbi, President of The Transformer Association (TTA) and COO of RAF Tabtronics LLC.
Chad Eckhardt, CEO of Grid Bridge.
– Dr. Jeffrey Casady, Business Development and Programs Manager at CREE.
This will be the first time that leaders of two of the world’s most significant power electronics projects, FREEDM and SPEED will meet in person and sit together on a panel. While these projects have differing remits, both are making significant progress towards improving the efficiency and reliability of the world’s energy transmission and distribution grid systems.
Chloe Theobald, content manager for the CWIEME exhibition series says: “It is an honor to open the show with such high level speakers – and with a topic that really pushes the boundaries of the traditional coil winding and electrical manufacturing industries. It’s sure to be a lively discussion.”
‘Power electronics: threat or opportunity to conventional coil winding and electrical manufacturing industries?’ will take place in the CWIEME Connect Theater on Tuesday September 30, 10:30-11:25am.
CWIEME Chicago – The Americas’ biggest showcase for the coil winding and electro-magnetic industry
Dates: September 30 – October 1, 2014
Venue: DE Stephens Convention Center, Chicago
Opening times: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admission: Free
For more information and to register for the event, please visit www.coilwindingexpo.com/chicago
