Electrical energy systems

KU Leuven , 1 semester
Research topics: security of (energy) supply, renewable electricity technology, energy markets, distributed energy resources, power electronics, electrical drives, electrical transportation, dependable control.
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Electrical energy systems
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In this project, the student will investigate future scenarios for the production, storage and consumption of electricity, taking into account the drive towards a more sustainable use of energy resources and the liberalization of the energy markets. This evolution will bring in more ?distributed energy resources? such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines and cogeneration units, all located in the distribution grid, whereas in the transmission grid old large central plants will be replaced by newer, cleaner types. The loads will also change in the coming years with, for instance, the emergence of plug-in hybrid vehicles. The electricity grid will be used in a totally different way cope with the larger load flows. In this whole, power electronics and related communication will play a key role. Depending on the pre-existing knowledge of the student, the work will be more technology-oriented or rather multidisciplinary.

The project is available in the Fall and Spring semester.
Number of places available: 1 or 2 per semester.

Prerequisites

  • High level (3rd or 4th year) undergraduate student
  • Minimum GPA 3.4

Important note: 

Students must remain registered as an undergraduate student at their U.S. or Canadian home institution while participating in the program. The student's home institution must complete the Learning Agreement after acceptance into a project, even if credits will not be transferred to that institution. Transfer of credits is decided by the students' home institution.

Submitting an application, does not guarantee that the student will be offered a placement. The research projects are also available to our domestic degree students; therefore, projects may already be full at the time of applying. Final decision on your admission is solely taken by the Research Supervisor at the host institution.

Faculty Department

Electrical Engineering.

The research domain of the ELECTA division covers the broad spectrum of electrical energy systems and robust control of industrial systems. As the largest research group on energy systems and fault tolerance in the Benelux, ELECTA's vision is to be widely recognized as centre-of-excellence on these topics, where fundamental research is coupled with immediately and prospectively applicable solutions for the industry. Alongside this development of know-how, a pivotal importance is given to sharing gained knowledge with the academic community, students, industry and the society as a whole.

Research presentation by Junsung (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

Research presentation by Junsung (University of Tennessee-Knoxville)

Learn more about Junsung's research project: Partial Shading in BIPVs

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