Power electronics and energy storage

The Power Electronics and Energy Storage research line advances the design, control, and integration of high-efficiency energy conversion systems and advanced storage technologies for electrified and renewable-based infrastructures. The line focuses on enabling reliable, high-performance, and resilient operation of converter-interfaced systems operating across a wide range of power scales. 

The research integrates power electronic converters, battery systems, supercapacitors, hybrid storage architectures, and advanced control strategies to address the dynamic demands of modern energy systems, including renewable integration, electrified transportation, and industrial decarbonization. 

Research Focus: 

  • Advanced Power Converter Design: developing high-efficiency DC–DC, DC–AC, and AC–DC conversion systems, including multi-level converters, high-frequency topologies, and wide-bandgap semiconductor technologies (e.g., SiC and GaN) to enhance performance and reduce losses. 
  • Control of Converter-Interfaced Energy Systems: designing nonlinear, predictive, and adaptive control strategies to manage fast-switching dynamics, ensure stability, and improve transient response under variable operating conditions. 
  • Energy Storage Technologies and Management: investigating electrochemical storage systems (e.g., lithium-ion and emerging chemistries), supercapacitors, and hybrid storage configurations, with emphasis on state estimation, health monitoring, and lifetime-aware operation. 
  • Battery Management and Power Management Systems: developing advanced algorithms for state-of-charge (SoC) and state-of-health (SoH) estimation, thermal management, fault detection, and optimal power dispatch in distributed and embedded systems. 
  • Integration of Storage with Renewable and Industrial Systems: studying dynamic interactions between storage devices, converters, and grids to enhance flexibility, peak-shaving, frequency support, and resilience.  

Industrial and Technological Impact: The research line supports the transition toward electrified, renewable-dominated energy systems by enabling efficient energy conversion and intelligent storage integration. Through improved converter efficiency, advanced battery management, and hybrid storage architectures, the line contributes to reduced energy losses, enhanced system stability, and extended asset lifetime. 

Applications span renewable generation systems, microgrids, electrified transportation, industrial drives, and backup power systems. By bridging device-level innovation and system-level integration, the line strengthens technological capabilities in sustainable energy infrastructure and advanced electrification technologies. 

The Team: includes faculty of Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Universidad de Chile and Universidad San Sebastián. the group is part of a large international collaboration network in which projects, co-tutoring of postgraduate students, research visits and publications are developed jointly. Collaborators include Prof. Bin Wu (Canada), Prof. Mariusz Malinowski (Poland), Dr. Thierry Meynard (France), Prof. José I. León and Dr. Sergio Vasquez (Spain), Prof. Maryam Saeedifard (USA), Prof. Alex Huang (USA), Prof. Peter Lehn (Canada), and others. 

Meet the Work Team

Principal Investigators

Samir Kouro

UTFSM

Adjunct Researchers

Roberto Cárdenas

UTFSM

José Rodriguez

UTFSM

Christian Rojas

UTFSM

Sebastián Rivera

UTFSM

Catalina González

UTFSM