Mission
Our mission is to contribute to societal sustainability by developing innovative methods and technologies in a learning-oriented, collaborative and interdisciplinary environment. We conduct high-quality research and education on electrical machines, power electronics, and energy storage for renewable energy and electromobility. We strive to become a well-known research team and preferred collaboration partner world-wide.
There are currently 29 researchers and engineers associated with the research unit “Electrical Machines and Power Electronics”, including 20 Chalmers employees and 9 adjunct industrial researchers.
Research areas
Electric machines for sustainability
- Electric machines without rare-earth magnets.
- High performance machines with different magnet materials.
- Design for energy efficiency and material recyclability.
- Multiphysics modelling and experimental evaluations.
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Power electronics converters
- High-power, high power density converters with SiC devices.
- PE integrated to electrical machines.
- High-efficiency and long lifetime.
- Multi-level converters.
- Loss modeling and advanced cooling.
Batteries and fuel-cells
- Characterisation and lifetime testing on lab and commercial cells.
- Teardown of commercial cells.
- Test, method and analysis development.
- Modelling and experimental validation of components and systems.
- Environmental impact analysis.
- Analytical system level design and dimensioning of battery systems for stationary and electromobility applications.
High frequency power conversion
- High-power inductive charging.
- High efficiency power transfer.
- DC/DC converters.
- High frequency transformers.
- Synchronized and active rectification.
- Rotating transformers and brushless excitation systems.
Drive system and motor control
- Modelling and simulation of components and drive systems.
- Real-time simulation of drivetrain and vehicles.
- Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and Power HIL of drive systems.
- Machine emulator for vehicle applications.
- Parameter identification, monitoring, and control.
- Control via dSPACE or onboard microprocessors.
Laboratories
Experimental verifications are crucial for our research results because most of our research projects are application oriented. The units has several laboratories to meet the needs for researchers and students to conduct their experimental tests. We have three 8 channel oscilloscopes with bandwidths up to 2 G, voltage ranges from single mV up to several kV.
- Machine lab: There are three benches for motor testing, equipped AC and DC generators in the power level of 50-250 kW with controllable voltage and frequency. The test objects can be electrical machines, power inverters, and inductive power transfer systems, and other electric power equipments with power up to 300 kW in back-to-back configuration. . The riggs can be equipped with torque transducers in the range up to 1000 Nm. The lab is equipped with dedicated ventilation and cooling system.
- Power electronics lab: It has test tables for students to build and test simple electronics setups. Possibility for both high and low power testing. Top of the line probes for voltage measurements, with bandwidths of up to 1-2 Ghz, as well as current probes with highest available bandwidth.
- Battery lab: The facility is designed for cell testing of small lab cells (mAh) up to large commercial cells (Ah). The lab is equipped with several different cell testers, cyclers and specialised battery measurement instruments ranging in capacity of pA – 250 A. Environmental control is achieved by several temperature/humidity chambers. An Argon filled glovebox is available for lab cell assembly and cell teardown in an inert environment. Instrumentation for high-accuracy measurements of three electrode cells enables excellent model parameter characterisation.
- Magnetic materials lab: Epstein frames, single sheet testers, fg-core testers, a hystograph operated with a 53 A 100 V advanced characterizer, with a bandwidth of up to 200 kHz, for testing of laminates, other soft magnetic materials as well as magnets.
Teaching
The unit staff are intensively involved in teaching in different education programs on both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Together with other units in the division, we hold the International Master’s Programme on Sustainable Electric Power Engineering and Electromobility at Chalmers. For this program, the unit delivers courses in electrical machines, power electronics, batteries, drive systems, etc. The teachers in the unit also offer PhD courses such as High Efficiency Electrical Machines, Power Converters with Wide Bandgap Semiconductors.
Collaboration
The unit has close collaborations with industrial partners in the automotive industry and power electronics manufacturers, such as Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks, ABB, Polestar, Aurobay, Hyundai, Infineon, and Ericsson. These collaborations are mostly done through Swedish and European research projects. The unit also runs common projects and has talent exchanges with other universities worldwide.
