Stability-oriented digital control of grid-tied converters

Modern energy systems increasingly depend on renewable sources, storage devices and flexible loads, all of which need to be connected to the grid in a reliable and controlled way. This project focuses on the digital control of grid-tied power electronic converters, which are key components for connecting these technologies to the electricity network while maintaining stable and efficient operation. By enabling smart, efficient and flexible integration of various renewable energy sources, loads, and storage devices, power electronic converters have fundamentally shifted the paradigm of how energy is stored, transmitted, and exploited. As such, they play a major role in replacing fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure with cleaner, more sustainable alternatives. When it comes to ensuring system stability, robustness and resilience to the disturbances originating from the regularly fluctuating grid, high proliferation of power electronic converters poses ever-increasing challenges. In this context, the converters’ digital control system design has a major impact.

With the goal of fully exploiting the potential of power electronic converters for realizing robust carbon-free energy infrastructure, this project addresses the above-mentioned challenges by developing advanced digital control methods for grid-tied converters. In this regard, the design tools employed rely on an impedance-based approach and its application to small-signal stability analysis and robust, stability-oriented controller design.