Department of Power Electronics and Machines

We combine teaching, research, and development in three areas: power electronics and drives, energy conversion, and intelligent systems and artificial intelligence. We carry out our academic and educational activities as the Department of Power Electronics and Machines (KEV) at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. We conduct our research activities within the Research and Innovation Center for Electrical Engineering (RICE), and in research projects, international collaboration, and communication with industry, we operate under the unified identity of RICE Power Lab.

Our activities cover the entire research chain—we are engaged in both basic research and, above all, applied research and industrial development. We specialize in the back-end of the semiconductor supply chain—specifically in power semiconductors, electrical power conversion (particularly power electronics, electrical machines, drives, power systems, and electrical grids), modeling and comprehensive simulations (digital twins), advanced control, and artificial intelligence. For our partners, we develop technologies, prototype hardware and software, and conduct comprehensive functional, system, and type tests on equipment up to 31 kV and typically up to 10 MW in power. We focus primarily on medium- and high-power technologies. We apply our results mainly in transportation, energy, industry, robotics, and medicine.  We draw on more than 75 years of technical tradition and bridge cutting-edge research with industrial applications through long-term partnerships with European industry. At the same time, we play an active role in international projects under the Horizon Europe program as well as in national strategic research programs.

The department is organized into three sections.

Power electronics and electric drives. SiC- and GaN-based wide-bandgap power semiconductors. Multiphase converters and drives, modular multilevel topologies. Electric drives, power supply, charging, and electronic systems for transportation technology and infrastructure—traction systems (drives and power supply systems), drives for wheeled vehicles, ships, and aircraft, wireless power transfer, and chargers. Modern Energy Systems—new components, modeling, and control of electrical networks (transmission systems, distribution and industrial networks, residential systems). Semiconductor switches and circuit breakers, FACTS, HVDC, PDUs (power distribution units), and power flow control, grid forming, smart grids. Industrial robotics and automation, manufacturing equipment and technologies.

Conversion of electrical energy into mechanical work, heat, light, chemical processes, etc. Electromechanical conversions include electrical machines—both rotary and linear—actuators, complex mechatronic systems, and robots. Multiphase machines and drives. Transformers, including electronic transformers (SST). Sources and storage of electrical energy (batteries, fuel cells). Power plants—particularly renewable energy sources, electrical technologies for both nuclear and non-nuclear sources of electricity and heat. Technologies for the production of electricity and heat and their optimization. Generators, compensators. New components of electrical networks. Machine diagnostics. Cooling and power management. NVH.

Industrial Informatics and “AI-supported engineering.” Advanced data analysis and modeling, optimization, modern control systems, diagnostics, and artificial intelligence. Optimal control, machine learning, Bayesian methods, fault detection, advanced and predictive diagnostics. Digital twins and stochastic modeling. Real-time applications, hardware and software development. Main application areas—energy, transportation, industry, and medicine.