Guest editorial: Medium‐ and high‐frequency converters for low‐ and medium‐voltage applications

Distributed renewable energy resources and the reliance on clean energy have provided a way to meet the ever-increasing global energy demand in an environmentally sustainable manner. In addition, the global net-zero carbon emission target to combat climate change has put pressure on developing new power conversion technologies to integrate zero-emission vehicles and utilise renewable energy resources. On-going research to develop innovative, practical and highly efficient power interfaces, from low-voltage, high-frequency power supplies to medium-voltage, medium-to-high frequency power converters, is essential to facilitate various emerging power conversion systems efficiently, and to satisfy the global energy demand. Next-generation power electronic converters and inverters topologies will inevitably be expected to exhibit much higher power density, higher reliability, increased compactness, higher efficiency and lower cost. With recent advancements in new semiconductor technology, the use of wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, particularly in low and medium voltage power electronic converter systems, is attractive due to the WBG devices’ inherent low on-state resistance, high voltage blocking capability, high thermal performance and high frequency switching characteristic. The emergence of new WBG technology will enable the development of new high-frequency power converters and inverters with a much lower system footprint that will significantly reduce the overall energy conversion system size and weight, with substantial improvement in power density. This special issue aims to foster and document the latest research in power electronic converters and inverters that address the above challenges. Prospective authors are invited to submit original research or review articles in the above areas.