Autonomous Power Controller for Mission Critical Microgrids

PCKA is partnering with researchers at Purdue University to develop an Autonomous Power Controller (APC) for mission-critical microgrids to supply electric power in a highly autonomous and secure manner to accomplish mission objectives. The APC consists of a centralized controller connected to an array of local component controllers. The centralized controller will be capable of optimal generation and load scheduling, abnormal conditions and/or failure detection, and system restoration, while the local controllers monitor system components and pass sensor data to the centralized controller. The main objectives of the PhaseII effort are 1) to validate and augment the controller’s capabilities and 2) to test its performance in a hardware-in-the-loop environment. The hardware development will leverage modular power electronics components designed by PCKA for other efforts. This will allow for cost-effective hardware testing of the control algorithms. Potential applications of the APC will be in deep space explorations, aeronautic flights, and special human habitats, where human supervision of the electric power systems is limited and availability of electric power is critical to mission success.