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Welcome to the RELACS laboratory website! The RELACS lab is an integral part of the FREEDM Systems Center and is located on the Centennial Campus in Raleigh, NC. In our laboratory, we are passionate about designing more efficient, convenient, intelligent, and safer charging systems ranging in power from milliwatts to hundreds of kilowatts.
Charging systems are omnipresent in our everyday life and they are here to stay. Whether wired or wireless, their primary function is to process electric power from a source (electric grid, renewable energy source, fuel cells, etc.) and store it into an energy storage system (chemical battery, supercapacitor, or a hybrid system). Our researchers explore Novel Converter Topologies and state-of-the-art power switches to make this process energy-efficient, well-controlled, and safe. To make the chargers smaller and more convenient, High-Frequency Conversion and Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor devices are utilized and investigated. The lab researchers study Wireless Power Transfer and Charging (both inductive and capacitive-based power transfer) in order to improve charging convenience or allow for charging of moving objects. Significant work in the laboratory is directed towards Electric Transportation, ranging from ground vehicles to underwater or unmanned aerial systems. Charging of Micromobility Devices (e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, etc.) is another area of interest. Additionally, our researchers made significant progress in designing charging infrastructure for Power Mobility Devices, such as power wheelchairs and scooters used by persons with disabilities and aging adults.
You are invited to browse our Research and Publications pages, meet our researcher on the People page or contact us using the Contact us page. We are always interested in different modes of collaboration with industry members or other research groups and individuals. Moreover, our doors are always open for motivated new members eager to explore the secrets of electrical engineering and power electronics.