Serbian electrical engineering students reach finals again in prestigious IFEC contest

The H-Bridges team of students from the School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Belgrade in Serbia is again vying to win the world’s biggest competition in the area of innovation, conservation, and effective use of electrical energy.

H-Bridges has again reached the finals of the annual IFEC 2023 – IEEE International Future Energy Challenge contest. The team of students from the School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Belgrade will compete with peers from prestigious universities around the world.

The contest is organized by the global Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – IEEE. The semifinals were held from March 19 to 23 in Orlando, Florida, within the Applied Power Electronics Conference. The finals are scheduled for July 26 to 28 in Hannover, Germany. It will feature seven teams.

The goal of IFEC 2023 is to develop a high-efficient and single-phase solid-state transformer

The topic of the current project, which Serbian students have been working on for months, is the development of a high-efficient and single-phase solid-state transformer or SST. The goal is also to develop a prototype, hardware and software for the integration of power electronic devices.

The solution enables using less of heavy materials such as iron and copper, while simultaneously providing system diagnostics in real time, H-Bridges said.

The implementation of the concept would accelerate the introduction of innovative solutions in the traditional electricity system and ease the integration of renewable energy sources, the update adds.

H-Bridges consists of students from all departments at the School of Electrical Engineering, also known as Faculty of Electrical Engineering or ETF. The contest enables them to apply their knowledge in theory through practical project work, which comprises all segments from research to development to solutions testing.

H-Bridges has won the competition in 2005 and 2019

The team traditionally ranks high. It is the fifth year in a row that it qualified for participating in the finals. H-Bridges won The Best Innovative Design Award last year and came in second overall. It won the competition in 2005 and 2019.