1. Energy Storage technologies for renewable energy applications.

Study and development of electric energy storage devices applications for:
 

• Integration of renewable energies in the electric grid
• Conditioning off-grid loads
• Transportation applications (train brake-energy recovering; electric vehicles)
• Micro grid and smart grid stability and energy saving.

Including: study, modeling, design and set-up prototypes (electric energy storage system, power electronics and control) based on technologies such as of supercapacitors, batteries  or flywheels. Several research projects developed in this issue, such as  SEDUCTOR, ACE2, SA2VE, TRAIN2CAR, MIREDCOM and SH2. 

2. Electric drives with switched reluctance machines

Design, fabrication and set-up of complete electric drives prototypes (electric machine, power electronics and control) based on switched reluctance electric machines up to 100 kW. 

The expertise covers applications such as electric vehicles, kinetic energy storages systems, electric generator for MEA (more electric aircraft) applications, or ocean wave energy devices. Several research projects developed in this issue, such as: SEDUCTOR, SA2VE, ACEBO, UNDIGEN, UNDIGEN+, SEA TITAN, SMARTWEC and DEHLSEN.

3. R&D capabilities

R&D group capabilities are related to these research lines, highlighting:

• Electric energy storage technologies modelling. 
  • Mathematical models of energy storage technologies, power electronics, control algorithms, and electric grid or load consumption for the analysis of dynamic performance. 
  • Thermal models based on CFD programs.
  • Methodologies for the dimensioning of energy storage systems based on time series, frequency domain and stochastic analysis and optimization technics.
• Energy Storage Prototypes development and test.
  • Design, manufacturing, set up and test laboratory and pre-industrial prototypes up to some hundreds of kW.
  • Power electronics, magnetics, control hardware, control algorithms, monitoring systems, PCB design.
  • Set-up tests, performance tests and data analysis.
  • Control algorithms, covering communication protocols, power electronics switching strategies, advance electric machines control, plant operation and, monitoring.
  • Power electronics experience covering, mainly, IGBT and SiC Mosfet.

 

 

 

 

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• Energy Storage Prototypes testing.
  • Power electronic laboratory with high power connection point, safe pitch for high speed electrical machines.
  • Collaboration with CEDEX in the laboratory facilities.
  • Renewable energy based on micro-grid  facility (collaboration with CEDER in Soria). 
  • Energy storage system tested in real plants.

 

 

 

• Switched reluctance machine developments for specific applications. 
  • Designs for special requirements: linear switched reluctance machines, electric vehicles applications (with reduced torque ripple and enhanced de-rated mode), MEA applications (with high power density and enhanced thermal requirements), energy storage applications (high-speed SRM).
  • SRM designs based on FEM analysis for electric performance and CFD analysis for thermal requirements.
  • Specific power electronics design for SRM.
  • Specific control algorithms and switching strategies for SRM.
  • Detail performance analysis of SRM based on lab tests and on FEM analysis.