Ohio State joins Department of Energy effort to increase efficiency, reduce costs in manufacturing

The Ohio State University is one of just two universities chosen by the Department of Energy (DOE) to merge wide-bandgap technology with advancements for large-scale motors to increase energy efficiency.

A total of $22 million in DOE Next Generation Electric Machines research funding was awarded recently to Ohio State, Clemson University, Calnetix Technologies, General Electric and Eaton Corporation. 

Ohio State Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Longya Xu and his team will receive approximately $3 million over the next three years to design, test, and demonstrate a high performance, high-speed drive capable of integrating into electric grids while avoiding energy losses associated with power transformers.

Xu has taught and researched electrical power systems at Ohio State since 1990. Acting as the principal investigator, in 2010 he helped establish the Center for High Performance Power Electronics (CHPPE), a $9 million Ohio State research center.

According to DOE, the Next Generation Electric Machines projects could cut energy waste by as much as 30 percent, plus reduce outputs used in the chemical and petroleum refining industries, natural gas infrastructure, and general industry compressor applications (HVAC, refrigeration, and wastewater pumps) by up to 50 percent. If successful, Xu’s project will significantly advance transformer-less drive technologies for a range of industries and motor applications.

"Replacing less efficient industrial motor systems with more advanced, variable-speed direct-drive systems and incorporating recent power electronics advances, such as wide-bandgap semiconductors, could reduce industrial electricity consumption by 2 to 4 percent," said Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Danielson, "leading to up to $2.7 billion in annual energy savings, reducing up to 27 million tons of carbon emissions each year, and creating high-quality manufacturing jobs.”

Wide-band gap technology controls or converts electrical energy into usable power, allowing systems to operate at higher temperatures, voltages and frequencies over silicon-based technologies. The end result is more durable and reliable, and can eliminate up to 90 percent of power losses in current electric conversion technology.