ABB boosts energy initiative
ETH Zurich is to set up a new chair for power semi-conductors in the Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. ABB is supporting the chair with a donation of CHF 5 million.
With the new Chair for Power Semi-Conductors, ETH Zurich is branching out its teaching and research activities into a key field and intensifying its collaboration with ABB, which is to give the new chair a kick-start with a donation of CHF 5 million to the ETH Zurich Foundation spread over ten years. This will be the fourth chair supported by various industrial partners to be established under ETH Zurich’s Electrical Energy Initiative. ABB already provided ETH Zurich with research funding for the energy initiative in 2008.
Modern power semi-conductors enable a highly efficient conversion of electrical energy and thus the reduction of losses in power electronic converter systems. Research on power semi-conductors is becoming more important, especially in light of the increasing supply of electricity from renewable energies to the electricity grid. One of the challenges is to improve the technologies so that they can guarantee loss-free power transport over long distances and develop novel systems for the conversion and distribution of electricity.
“The new chair at ETH Zurich will expand the degree programs on offer for students and develop new technology and materials in a field that is pivotal for Switzerland’s energy policy,” says Ralph Eichler, the President of ETH Zurich. One key research focus will also be their utilisation in the high-voltage network of the future.