Keynote Speech

Keynote Speech 1 :

How Model Predictive Control is Revolutionizing the High Power Electronics Industry

This lecture explores what it takes for model predictive control (MPC) to make a break-through in industry. While the low-power converter industry has been slow in adopting the most widely investigated MPC methods, MPC has started to revolutionize high-power converters by increasing their rated power, lowering their cost and ensuring their safe operation in the presence of grid disturbances and faults. In particular model predictive pulse pattern control (MP3C) fully exploits the performance potential of high-power converters by combining the benefits of MPC with the optimal steady-state performance of optimized pulse patterns. The MP3C principle can be applied to a wide range of applications, including medium-voltage drives, low-voltage traction converters, and modular multilevel converters. For load commutated inverters, model predictive torque control (MPTC) increases the drive's efficiency and robustness to grid disturbances. Both methods have been commercialized and will be discussed in detail.

Tobias Geyer is a Corporate Executive Engineer at ABB System Drives in Switzerland and R&D platform manager of the ACS6080. His research interest are high-power drives, model predictive control and optimized pulse patterns. Dr. Geyer received the Ph.D. in control theory and the Habilitation degree in power electronics from ETH Zurich. He was appointed as an extraordinary professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and teaches at ETH Zurich. He has received four IEEE prize paper awards and has filed about 80 patents. Dr. Geyer is a Distinguished Lecturer of PELS and a Fellow of the IEEE.