Banquet keynote address- Power electronics for peaceful environment

Summary form only given. The complete presentation was not made available for publication as part of the conference proceedings. Water, air, food and energy are the necessities of life. And needless to say, electric energy is indispensable to daily life and industrial activity. However, Japan depends on imports for more than 80% of its energy supply, imports almost all of its petroleum. Internationally, rapidly growing demand in the Asian region is beginning to have a great impact on the world energy supply. Reserve-production ratios of crude oil and natural gas are estimated to be about 40 years and 61 years, respectively. Fossil fuel combustion emits carbon dioxide, and generated carbon dioxide causes global warming. To solve these problems, energy consumption should be reduced and new energy sources should be introduced. Through the energy saving efforts of the public and the government, Japan has achieved the highest level of energy efficiency anywhere in the world since the oil crises. The installed power of solar and wind power generation in Japan has been increasing rapidly. Power electronics plays important rolls in all range from electric power generation to consumption. Power devices are key components of power electronics apparatus. In this speech, I would like to show you the typical examples of power electronics systems and used devices in these systems. Progress in power electronics has been made along a wide front: at the semiconductor device level, at the circuit side and in systems and applications. Circuit configurations, functions and characteristics are greatly dependent on power devices. I am greatly expecting the advent of such new devices that open the new power electronics technology, which realizes simultaneous pursuit of comfortable every day life and environmental protection.