rganized by Aalborg University, Denmark, the 13th International Future Energy Challenge (IFEC) 2020 announced awards for the student project competition on power supplies for nanosatellites, a fast-growing satellite industry segment.  In 2020, the student teams were challenged to design and build a power supply for nanosatellites with specific requirements for efficiency, power density, weight, and dynamic performance. The competition included a preliminary proposal submitted in November 2019, two virtual technical workshops (April and August 2020), and a final competition with prototypes sent to and tested at Aalborg University in November 2020.  A total of 26 project proposals were received from 13 countries and regions. Initially, 17 teams were shortlisted for the first workshop, and 10 teams were later invited for the second workshop. The final competition involved prototype testing of the four finalist teams. These tests were conducted locally at Aalborg University, where Chroma ATE Inc. sponsored the testing system. The winners are as follows:

  • The Grand Prize ($10,000) - Zhejiang University
  • The Outstanding Performance Award ($5,000) - National Ilan University
  • The Outstanding Performance Award ($5,000) - University of Belgrade
  • The Ingenuity Award ($1,000) - India Institute of Technology Kanpur

The following teams received the Certificate of Excellence:

• Leibniz University Hannover
• Technische Hochschule Köln
• University of Alberta
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Examples of the developed prototypes by the IFEC 2020 student teams.

Initiated in 2001, the IFEC is sponsored by Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA), IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS), IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), and IEEE Industry Application Society (IAS). In all, the IFEC 2020 was a big success, despite the challenges associated with COVID-19 and the contingency plans for the technical workshops and final competition. All participating teams and, in particular, the finalists showed excellent skills in teamwork and solving technical problems. Congratulations to all the teams on their remarkable work and innovation. We look forward to future IFECs, more importantly, to see more brilliant students disseminate and share knowledge across continents and institutions.

More information can be found on IFEC 2020 website: http://energychallenge.weebly.com/ifec-2020.html.

Provided by IFEC 2020 General Chair Huai Wang

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