IEEE ICDCM 2025

The following keynotes will be included in the technical program of the ICDCM 2025 conference.

Why and how direct current power networks will dominate global green electricity infrastructure

Abstract. It is a common practice to read almost every day the news about flooding, extreme heat related deaths, hurricane and high food prices etc. all over the world. Globally, dirty energy of fossil fuel represents 81% of all energies used by mankind.  Getting rid of fossil fuel as early as possible and electrifying everything by green sustainable electric power is the only answer to tackle climate emergency. Solar electricity generated by photovoltaics (PV) has reached to the point that PV is now the cheapest source of electric power generation. On shore wind, electricity is as cheap as solar electricity and off shore wind electricity has issues of higher cost than on shore wind electricity. The cost of batteries is coming down every day and the combination of PV and batteries at utility scale can provide lower cost than electrical power generated by fossil fuel in many parts of the world. It remains to be seen if the cost of green hydrogen can be brought down significantly or it will remain a future source of energy. Thus, today we have nearly a solution of sustainable green electrical power generation and storage. Globally AC electric power infrastructure has been adopted over DC power due to invention of transformer. However, due to power electronics the situation is totally different today. Except for induction motors running on 100 % speed, all loads using variable frequency device (VFD) are DC loads. Both PV and batteries are based on DC power and virtually all loads are DC loads. Considering power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization, as a single entity, we are wasting a large amount of power using our AC power electricity infrastructure. By using end-to-end DC (EEDC) power networks, we will save energy and capital investment of electricity infrastructure as well as DC loads as compared to the existing AC power infrastructure. The bottleneck challenge in achieving the goal of end-to-end DC (EEDC) power networks is the lack of bi-directional solid state based LVDC to MVDC and MVDC to HVDC converters with protection circuits. The purpose of this talk is to provide pathway that includes technical and policy details to expedite green energy transition by using EEDC electricity infrastructure.

Keynote Speaker. Rajendra Singh is Houser Banks Distinguish professor in the Holcombe Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Automotive Engineering at Clemson University (CU). Motivated by the statement of Thomas Edison about solar Energy, during the energy crisis of 1973 he decided to do Ph.D. dissertation in the area of Silicon Solar Cells. In the last 50 years, he has contributed and witnessed the growth of photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. With proven success in operations, project/program leadership, R&D, product/process commercialization, and start-ups, Dr. Singh is a leading technologist with the focused goal of mitigation of climate related challenges by providing sustainable green electric power. He is author or co-author of over 500 publications in various journals and conference proceedings. He is editor or coeditor of more than fifteen conference proceedings. He has presented over 60 keynote addresses and invited talks in various national and international conferences. He is founding technical chair of IEEE DC Microgrid Conference. Dr. Singh holds six patents. Technology developed in his lab has been licensed to industry for commercialization. Currently he is serving as Chair of IEEE Power and Energy Society Committee on End-to-End DC power. He is fellow of IEEE, SPIE, ASM and AAAS. Dr. Singh has received a number of national and international awards. In 2010, Photovoltaics World selected him as one of the ten Global Champions of photovoltaics. In 2014, he was honored by US President Barack Obama as a White House “Champion of Change for Solar Deployment” for his leadership in advancing solar energy with photovoltaics technology. In 2019, he received Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) Award presented by Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

DC Technologies for Flexible Distribution Grids 

Abstract.The liberalization of the energy market has significantly impacted the entire structure of the energy supply system. In addition, partially due to a strong commitment of governments to reduce CO2 emissions, vast amounts of renewable, dispersed, but volatile power generator systems (mostly wind and PV) are being installed. To cope with this new landscape of dispersed, volatile generation, several measures must be taken to provide a robust and secure energy supply of electrical energy. In particular, next to fully automated demand side management systems, all sorts of energy storages (in form of heat, cold, gas and batteries) and more flexible grid structures are needed. This presentation explores the potentials of DC technologies in distribution systems. The role and prospects of state-of-the-art power electronics and protection gear, a key enabling technology to realize a modern energy supply system, is discussed.

Keynote Speaker. Rik W. De Doncker, (M'87 SM'99 F'01) received his Ph.D. degree in electro-mechanical engineering from the KU Leuven, Belgium. In 1987, he was appointed Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he developed the DAB converter. In 1988, he joined the GE Corporate Research and Development Center, Schenectady, NY. In November 1994, he joined Silicon Power Corporation (formerly GE-SPCO) as Vice President Technology, developing world’s first medium-voltage static transfer switch. Since Oct. 1996, he is professor at RWTH Aachen University, Germany, where he leads the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives (ISEA). Oct. 2006 he was appointed director of the E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH Aachen University, where he leads the Institute of Power Generation and Storage Systems. Since 2014, he is director of the German Federal Government BMBF Flexible Electrical Networks (FEN) Research CAMPUS. He has a doctor honoris causa degree of TU Riga, Latvia. He has published over 800 technical papers and is holder of more than 60 patents. Dr. De Doncker is recipient of the IAS Outstanding Achievements Award, the 2013 Newell Power Electronics IEEE Technical Field Award, and the 2014 IEEE PELS Harry A. Owen Outstanding Service Award. In 2015 he was awarded Fellow status at RWTH University. In 2016 he became member of the German Academy of Science and Technology (ACATECH). 2020 he received the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering.

Protection of DC grids - challenges, and solutions 

Abstract. Just like any other power grids DC microgrids need protection from short-circuit faults. Both fault detection and fault clearing differ greatly from AC grids. Generally, DC protection need to be faster as there is no reactance to limit the fault current. Furthermore, DC current interruption is challenging since there are no natural zero-crossings in the current. The approach to protection in DC grids will likely be different at different voltage levels and the types of protection equipment used will differ. DC circuit breaker technologies suitable for DC microgrids will be reviewed, and their design and properties described. Also, protection interoperability in a multivendor context is crucial for the deployment of DC microgrids. Methodologies for achieving interoperability will be discussed and explained. 

Keynote Speaker. Staffan Norrga was born in Lidingö, Sweden, in 1968. He received the M.Sc. degree in applied physics from Linköping Institute of Technology, Linköping, Sweden, in 1993 and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, in 2005. Between 1994 and 2011, he worked as a Development Engineer at ABB in Västerås, Sweden, in various power-electronics-related areas such as railway traction systems and converters for HVDC power transmission systems. He currently holds a position as associate professor in power electronics at KTH. In 2014 he co-founded Scibreak AB to develop new technology for current interruption. The company is now part of Mitsubishi Electric. His research interests include power electronics and its applications in power grids, renewables, and electric vehicles. He is the inventor or co-inventor of more than 15 granted patents and has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers published at international conferences or in journals.

How DC Contributes to the Energy Transition 

Abstract. The international commitment to keep global temperature rise to around 1.5°C requires every sector to contribute. This talk focuses on the use of electrical energy and, specifically, how low-voltage DC reduces power loss, needs less equipment to achieve the same tasks, and relieves the supply grid. Collaboration in alliances such as the Open DC Alliance (ODCA) brings stakeholders together. Application examples and the achieved benefits round up the talk. 

Keynote Speaker. Dr. Hartwig Stammberger received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, in 1995. After joining Moeller (named Klöckner-Moeller at the time) in Bonn, Germany, in 1995, he was first a senior engineer, promoted to group manager in 1997, and deputy department leader of the Technology development department in 2003. After Eaton Corporation acquired Moeller in 2008 he took over the management position of the technology department of the Power Distribution Components Division of Eaton in Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA). Currently, he is Manager Strategic Associations Direct Current at Eaton EMEA. He was in charge of coordinating the German government-funded project DC-INDUSTRIE between 2016 and 2019, as well as DC-INDUSTRIE2 from 2019 to 2023. Since 2022, he has been Chair of the Board of the Open DC Alliance (ODCA).