Line-frequency commutated control core for large MMC
This technology improves how large-scale power converters handle electricity in high-voltage applications like grid infrastructure and industrial drives. It introduces a smarter control method for modular multilevel converters — a class of power electronics used to convert and manage electrical power at scale — by using line frequency switching to reduce losses and complexity. The system monitors capacitor voltages within each phase of the converter and generates precise switching signals to either insert or bypass those capacitors based on real-time circuit conditions. The result is a more efficient, controllable converter architecture that can handle multiphase power with fewer high-frequency switching events.
What you could build
A power conversion module or control IP core for high-voltage DC transmission systems, industrial motor drives, or offshore wind interconnects; buyers would be grid equipment OEMs like ABB, Siemens Energy, or GE Vernova, as well as utility-scale energy storage integrators.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia dominates DoD and utility corridor infrastructure; defense contractors (Dominion Energy, Navy shipboard power programs at Norfolk) and grid modernization projects in the PJM interconnect region would have direct interest.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- —
- Granted
- November 29, 2022
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 113986
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.