AI-assisted design of power electronic converters
Prof. Wilmar Martinez
KU LEUVEN, Belgium
This lecture highlights how artificial intelligence (ML-based) is increasingly supporting power electronics in response to the energy transition, electrification, and growing system complexity. Power electronics is seen as a key enabling technology for renewable energy, electric mobility, HVDC grids, and industrial automation, but it faces challenges related to design complexity, efficiency, and stability. AI is presented as a practical enabler that can accelerate design and improve accuracy in areas such as component data extraction, loss modelling, magnetics, thermal management, control, and PCB design. Several examples demonstrate how AI can reduce development time and enable advanced functionality, while the talk also stresses that AI should be applied selectively and responsibly due to its own energy footprint.
Biography
Wilmar Martinez received his PhD degree in Power Electronics from Shimane University, Japan, in 2016. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Toyota Technological Institute, Japan, in 2016 and at Aalto University, Finland, in 2017. In 2018, he was a visiting researcher in the Power Electronic Systems (PES) group at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. In 2018, he joined KU Leuven, Belgium, as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), and he has held the position of Associate Professor since 2023. Additionally, he serves as the Coordinator of the Research Line Power Electronics at EnergyVille in Belgium. His current research interests include a wide range of areas of power conversion for energy and transportation systems, battery charging infrastructure, and electric powertrain development through design automation of power converters, optimised magnetic components, study of SiC and GaN switching devices, and advanced Machine Learning tools for power electronics.