June 27-28, 2023
8:30 AM – 5 PM EDT
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee
Register to participate

The Office of Electricity's Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components (TRAC) program accelerates modernization of the grid by addressing challenges with transformers , Solid State Power Substations (SSPS), High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC), and other critical grid hardware components.

The TRAC program supports projects that spur the innovative transformer designs of LPTs that are more flexible and adaptable, increasing the resilience of the Nation’s power grid; and SSPS building blocks prototype development that can that enable new functionalities, new topologies, and enhanced control of power flow and voltage.

Join the researchers and industry professionals to learn more about the TRAC program projects and participate in dialogue, idea exchange, and build connections. A panel of peer reviewers will evaluate the programs based on these presentations. The feedback collected from peer reviewers and other attendees will be used to improve the quality of the program and individual projects.

The deadline for foreign national registration is May 31.

Agenda

June 27

8:30 AM – Opening Remarks and Keynote

  • Susan Hubbard, Deputy for Science and Technology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Michael Pesin, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Grid Systems and Components, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

9:00 AM – TRAC Program Overview

  • Andre Pereira, TRAC Program Manager, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

9:20 AM – U.S. Department of Energy Panel

10:10 AM – PACE Overview

  • Madhu Chinthavali, Group Leader, Power Electronics Systems Integration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

10:30 AM – Break

10:40 AM – TRAC Program Presentations

  • Prasad Kandula, Research Staff Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Medium voltage DC/DC Intelligent Power Stage (IPS)
  • Ghanshyamsinh Gohil, Lead Scientist, Hitachi Energy
    • Modular Solid-State Switch (MS3)
  • Jack Flicker, Principal Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
    • High Voltage, High Power WBG Module Development
  • Madhu Chinthavali, Group Leader, Power Electronics Systems Integration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • SSPS 1.0 Hardware Prototype Development
       

12:00 PM – Working Lunch and Universities Poster Sessions

  • Yue Zhao, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas
  • Babak Parkhideh, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • Hui Li, Professor, Florida State University
  • Rolando Burgos, Professor, Virginia Polytechnic
  • Jin Wang, Professor, Ohio State University
  • Leon Tolbert, Chancellor’s Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
  • Mark Nations, PhD Candidate, North Carolina State University
  • Fang Luo, Associate Professor, Stony Brook University
     

1:30 PM – TRAC Program Presentations

  • Michael Starke, Power Systems Researcher, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • GMLC 2.4.2 – Multiport HUB: SSPS Architecture Framework
  • Radha Krishna Moorthy, R&D Associate Staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • SSPS Hardware in the loop (HIL) validation
    • SSPS 1.0 node Use case Validation with Smart Universal Power Electronics Regulators (SUPERs)
  • Joao Pereira Pinto, PhD, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Solid State Power Substation (SSPS) 1.0 Controller
  • Stephen Kelley, Research Engineer, Southern Company
    • SSPS Field Demonstration
       

3:00 PM – Break

3:10 PM – TRAC Program Presentations

  • Vahan Gevorgian, Chief Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
    • SuperFACTS
  • Deepakraj Divan, Profesor, Georgia Tech
    • LPT FOA GA Tech
  • Sanjay Rajendran, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Texas at Austin
    • LPT FOA University of Texas Austin
  • Sudip Mazumder, President, NextWatt
    • LPT FOA Nextwatt
  • Alexander Abboud, Research Scientist, Idaho National Laboratory
    • Transmission Optimization with Grid Enhancing Technologies (TOGETs)
       

4:50 PM – Closing Remarks

  • Andre Pereira, TRAC Program Manager, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

June 28

8:30 AM – Welcome Remarks

  • Andre Pereira, TRAC Program Manager, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

8:40 AM – TRAC Program Presentations

  • Suman Debnath, Energy Science and Technology Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Scalable Hybrid Large-Scale dc-ac Grid Analysis Methods
  • Prasad Kandula, Research Staff Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • MVDC Use Case
  • Jeffrey Wuenschell, Research Scientist, National Energy Technology Laboratory
    • Optical Fiber Sensors for Acetylene Detection
  • Iver Anderson, Senior Metallurgist, Ames National Laboratory
    • Al/Ca Composite Conductor
  • Jagan Devkota, Research Scientist, National Energy Technology Laboratory
    • Soft Magnetics for Power Conversion Applications
       

10:20 AM – Break

10:30 AM – New Project Portfolio

10:50 AM – National Lab Grid Integration Capabilities

11:50 AM – Closing Remarks

  • Andre Pereira, TRAC Program Manager, Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy

12:00 PM – Working Lunch (optional)

1:00 PM – GRID-C Tour and Demos (optional)

3:00 PM - Adjourn

Hotel and Travel for TRAC Program Peer Review
The TRAC event is hosted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Hardin Valley Campus in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Additional Resources:

For additional questions, please contact Andre Pereira at andre.pereira@hq.doe.gov.