ICIEA 2026 Special Session
SS33: Power Conversion Theory and Applications for DC Microgrids and Distribution Systems
Organized by:
Organizer 1: Zhengmei Lu
Email: luzhengmei@sjtu.edu.cn
Affiliation: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Organizer 2: Fei Liu
Email: fayliu@nuaa.edu.cn
Affiliation: Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China
Organizer 3: Jianjun Ma
Email: j.j.ma@sjtu.edu.cn
Affiliation: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, electric vehicles, data centers, and DC loads is accelerating the deployment of DC microgrids and DC distribution systems in modern power networks. Compared with conventional AC architectures, DC-based systems offer improved efficiency, simplified power conversion stages, and enhanced compatibility with emerging energy resources and loads. DC microgrids and DC distribution systems have attracted significant attention in recent years as key enabling infrastructures for high-penetration renewable energy integration, distributed energy storage, electric vehicle charging, and DC loads. The growing diversity of operating conditions and application scenarios poses new challenges to power conversion efficiency, system stability, and coordinated control.
Power electronic converters play a central role in enabling the efficient, reliable, and flexible operation of DC microgrids and distribution systems. In particular, advanced converter topologies and control strategies are essential to achieve high efficiency, wide voltage operating ranges, high power density, and fast dynamic response under diverse operating conditions.
This special session aims to provide an international forum for researchers and practitioners to present recent advances in power electronic converter topologies and control strategies for DC microgrids and DC distribution systems. Both theoretical and experimental contributions are encouraged, covering converter-level as well as system-level innovations. The session aims to bridge converter-level design and DC system operation, and to highlight emerging challenges and future research directions in DC-based energy systems.
Advanced power electronic converters serve as the fundamental building blocks of DC-based energy systems, interfacing various sources, loads, and storage units. To meet the stringent performance requirements of DC microgrids and distribution systems, converter topologies with soft-switching capability, wide voltage-gain operation, and high power density are increasingly required. Meanwhile, appropriate modeling and control strategies are essential to ensure stable operation, dynamic performance, and system-level coordination.
Although extensive research has been conducted on individual converter topologies or control methods, existing studies are often scattered across different application contexts. This special session provides a focused platform to bring together recent developments in converter topology, modeling, and control, and to discuss their roles and impacts within DC microgrids and DC distribution systems. The proposed session aligns well with the scope of ICIEA and addresses timely topics of broad interest to the power electronics and industrial electronics communities.