High power medium voltage drives - innovations, portfolio, trends

The paper gives an overview over high power medium voltage drive inverters in the range between one and one hundred megawatts. First the applications and their key requirements are summarized. Then the available power semiconductors and the different inverter circuit topologies with their different properties, advantages and drawbacks are presented. The key features are compared and suitable converter types for the applications and industry branches are identified. Finally, future trends of technology, manufacturing and market are outlined.