The Power of Power Electronics

Demand for electrical and electronics engineers in the field of power electronics is steadily on the rise in India. But what is required of them to befit this industry? Lets look at the current scenario, including entry-level roles, typical pay-packages, skills expected and much more Abhishek Mutha

What is the one thing that the Indian power sector wishes to eradicate? Power cuts, of course. This is the most common, aggravating and discomforting problem faced by hundreds of millions of people across India. As a result, One of the current focus areas in the power sector is driving energy conservation at large power plants, where auxiliary power consumes close to 10 per cent of what is generated, says Prakash Nayak, chairman, IET India Power Engineers Panel. Many countries including India, of late, have been deploying variable-frequency and highly

energy-efficient drives to improve the energy efficiency of the motors or pumps which are energy guzzlers, Nayak adds. On the renewable side of energy, India is fortunate to have over 3000 hours of sunshine annually. Nayak explains, Solar energy can be utilised as an alternative source of energy, with the help of photovoltaic or concentrated solar thermal power technology. This technology uses extensive power electronics devices and systems; one example is transformerless high-efficiency inverters ranging from small capacity such as 300W to hundreds of megawatts. Talking about yet another renewable source of energywindNayak shares India has a large potential of the order of 40 GW per year. The cost, initially, might be on higher side, however, it is coming down at a much faster rate and will reach grid parity by 2017. Commenting on the evolution of power electronics, he says, In order to have efficient bulk transmission from generating hub to industrial hub, these hubs deploy IGBT-based HVDC converters at each of the substations, static VAR compensations, etc. Drives for increased energy efficiency in power plants, inverters used in both wind and solar power generation and converters used in HVDC transmission for bulk transfer of power are all based on power electronics technology. Another emerging area is DC grid, which deploys devices like solidstate transformers and switchgears. Career opportunities in this field In addition to the industrial sector, power electronics is rapidly gaining momentum in automotive space too with the advent of electric and hybrid vehicles, says Basavaraj Garadi, chief expert, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions. Engineers interested in this field are required to have experience with converters, rectifiers and inverters (AC and DC) and should be experts in specific fields across the engineering life-cycle, including design, test and support. Specialist areas could include switch-mode power supply, motor control, IGBT/MOSFET design and battery charging system. DC grid opens tremendous opportunities for power electronics engineers and researchers. Activities related to power semiconductor development, product development, and also system simulation and power system development are surely going to create greater career opportunities in the field of power electronics, informs Nayak. Sharing his views on why one should opt for this field of engineering, Garadi explains, In the past, there was none or minimal direct involvement of electronics in power generation. With the advent of solar energy, power electronics is the key element in PV plants. Motor control is another system that is widely applied in industrial and automotive applications. Three-phase induction motors and BLDC motors are hot topics, says Garadi. Variable frequency drives find multiple applications. Garadi adds, There is significant work on AC-toDC, DC-to-AC and DC-DC power converters. You see them in all sectors, including industrial, home and even automotive too.

Skills required to succeed

1. A thorough knowledge of power electronics fundamentals, including basic power

conversion topologies 2. Modelling of power electronics circuits and systems 3. Matlab/Simulink (or equivalent software) expertise for simulating power electronics systems in various applications 4. Control implementation 5. Knowledge of PCB design 6. Awareness about EMI/EMC issues 7. Programming of microcontrollers, DSP processors, etc 8. Knowledge of the hardware design of power electronics circuits and systems Vivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay Current scenario of power electronics for engineers in India For a few years, there was not much focus on this field as the need was not felt. But today with so many developments happening, the scenario is changing, says Nayak. Sharing his personal experience, he adds, In a multinational company that I worked for earlier, I was responsible for developing a resource base for both R&D and engineering services catering to global requirements. It was difficult in the beginning to get the resources but in a span of two years we managed to hire and develop over 200 resources, though there were only a few experts in this area. In India, as there are very few institutes/universities that offer competitive and valuable undergraduate or graduate programmes in power electronics, there is a scarcity of expert manpower in this field, said Vivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. Entry-level roles could be in technical areas like design, testing and commissioning. Those with a higher proficiency level could move into the research area Prakash Nayak, chairman, IET India Power Engineers Panel Usually, power electronics companies with indigenous capabilities belong to the small-scale or medium-scale category and do not have significant R&D activity. Agarwal adds, During the last two decades, some of the multinational companies have set up their R&D centres and manufacturing units in India where specialised power electronics systems are designed and developed but the number of such organisations is very small. Whats it like for freshers? There are quite a few companies engaged in power electronics products, especially those in energy sector. Nayak says, Entry-level roles could be in technical areas like design, testing and commissioning. Those with a higher proficiency level could move into the research area. He adds, Nanotechnology is also bringing in tremendous opportunity in power semiconductor design. There are also some activities in automotive OEMs and Tier-1 companies in the areas of electric and hybrid vehicles. Currently, due to the scarcity of good power electronics engineers, the need is met by

recruiting electronics or electrical engineers. Specialised (postgraduate-level) power electronics engineers are usually absorbed by multinational companies in R&D jobs and get to work on specialised projects, adds Agarwal. He believes that it is not difficult for a fresher with power electronics background to get into this sector. On a slightly contradictory note, Garadi says, It is highly unlikely that undergraduate freshers will be able to directly involve in power electronics design activities. However, smart engineers with a flair for power electronics could get into it. With on-the-job training under the guidance of experienced engineers, freshers would do well by starting off with product testing and gaining experience donning the role of a design engineer, Garadi adds. Postgraduates in power electronics can plunge into design or debugging of power electronics products. Typical pay packages Power electronics field offers highly satisfying pay packages. Since it is a specialised segment, competent engineers enjoy a special status vis--vis other hardware engineers. In fact, they command a better pay package than mixed-signal board designers. The exact pay package depends on the company recruiting, plus the specific skills that the company is seeking. The starting salary for a postgraduate in power electronics could be around Rs 600,000 a year, Garadi informs. For undergraduates passing out from reputed academic institutes and universities, it is approximately Rs 400,000-700,000 a year. For postgraduate students, it is typically Rs 500,000 to Rs 1,000,000, while those with a PhD are able to draw Rs 900,000-Rs 1,600,000 a year, adds Agarwal. Skills required According to industry experts, applied mathematics will go a long way for a good grasp of power electronics. A good background on linear and non-linear systems will help in understanding the various concepts. Circuit simulation will help in reinforcing theoretical concepts. Garadi suggests, A good understanding of the behaviour of magnetics, power FETs and IGBTs is the key to designing and debugging power circuits but, finally, a hands-on approach is the only way to master any topic. Nayak adds, Aspirants must be strong in power semiconductors application engineering in power system, as there are tremendous opportunities and also continuous improvement in design of semiconductors focusing on cost and materials used. Participating in industrial seminars, conferences and exhibitions related to power electronics systems and products would help improve ones knowledge base. Agarwal says, An internship in the power electronics division of reputed organisations would help one gain a good experience of designing and fabricating at least some basic power electronics systems. Short-term courses to fine-tune skills When it comes to short-term courses, there are just a few of them. Some institutes offer advanced training in power electronics for graduates, while others offer courses in power devices, motors and motor controls, AC drives, etc. A few institutes also offer certificate

courses in power electronics, power supply design and switched-mode supplies. Garadi shares, I do not see any short-term course in power electronics doing full justice to the topic. However, there are a lot of masters programmes in power electronics offered by many premier technical institutes. IITs, these days, are offering integrated B.Tech and M.Tech programmes in power electronics. There is a scarcity of expert manpower in this field Vivek Agarwal, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay

In addition to the industrial sector, power electronics is rapidly gaining momentum in automotive space too with the advent of electric and hybrid vehicles. Power electronics engineers command a better pay package than mixedsignal board designers. The exact pay package depends on the company recruiting plus the specific skills that the company is seeking Basavaraj Garadi, chief expert, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solution Nayak concedes, Best learning is achieved through on-the-job training at the industries as they give tremendous opportunities and challenges for harnessing the skills and also application of their basic knowledge leading to product design and solutions. Sharing with us how Bosch spends time and effort in training and sharpening skills of new recruits, Garadi says, Freshers go through intensive training both in generic topics that they are likely to be associated with and specific domain that they get into. He adds, We are continuously improving the training programmes and the content. W e are bringing in hands-on training with a few sample design tasks so that the engineers realise and appreciate the challenges and get an idea of the serious nature of engineering. Times are changing Industry experts believe that power electronics is an emerging field in India. In spite of being an interesting core engineering area of interdisciplinary nature with a lot of challenges, it is believed to be less popular. Agarwal feels, This is probably because of a general bias against the field of power, which is considered to be an old and well established field. He further adds, Until a few decades ago, a power electronics engineer could find a job only in homegrown private companies (which were very few) and select government establishments such as BHEL, DRDO and ISRO. But with the coming of multinational companies (MNCs) and the increasing thrust on renewable energy conditioning, automotive industry, efficient lighting systems and electric drives, available opportunities and salaries have increased significantly. Garadi says, All of these sectors offer numerous employment opportunities to graduates as well as postgraduates. There are both large MNCs as well as SMEs that pick professionals in power electronics on a regular basis. Incidentally, last year, our own company recruited a few from premier IITs.

With power electronics visible in almost all spheres of life, and with increasing competition among the local industries and the growing need for power electronics, a sharp rise in the demand for power electronics experts is inevitable, believes Agarwal. In the future The global need for core engineering is increasing, which is one of the reasons why many of the global companies are setting up research and engineering units outside their base. Nayak says, Core engineering is very much in demand as there will be a huge capacity build up with countrys plan of 100 GW during the current Planning period, i.e., 2012 -17. He adds, Considering recent developments in the field of power systems, a ll-round focus on renewable energy and drive towards efficiency and bulk transmission, both in India and abroad, there is enough scope for power electronics. There will be tremendous placement opportunities for those who are willing to pursue a career in p ower electronics. IET Power panel, headed by Nayak, consists of representatives from industries, academia and research units, focuses on ways to develop the core engineering resources and how to make them employable through the panels young professional and student chapter activities with continuous interaction and guidance.