Dr Sebastian Neira Castillo (Lecturer in Electrical Machines and Drives, University of Edinburgh) has a track record of delivering research outcomes for industry collaborative projects covering topics such as wide-bandgap power semiconductors for megawatt-scale converter design in renewable energy applications, DC circuit breakers for future HVDC networks, and converter design for superconducting transmission systems. He recently obtained two Early Career Research (ECR) Awards from Supergen ORE and N-ZEEE to explore novel power conversion systems for marine wave energy and transport electrification applications.
His current research interests are in innovative power conversion systems for next-generation sustainable transportation and renewable energy applications. These applications include all-electric aviation, heavy-duty transport electrification and renewable energy applications with high potential in the UK such as marine wave energy. He is particularly interested in developing (i) megawatt-scale power electronics converters to operate at cryogenic temperatures with high efficiency/high power density levels and (ii) DC-DC power conversion systems capable of performing the power take-off process of innovative wave energy technologies, such as Dielectric Elastomer Generators (DEG).
Funded Activity
Sebastian Neira Castillo was funded to attend the 2025 IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference, including the AIAA Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium. This activity aimed to:
Enable Sebastian to make new connections with potential Industrial and Academic partners to support a Fellowship bid regarding the design and development of cryogenic power electronics converters for superconducting propulsion systems.
Allow Sebastian to stay connected with the latest industry advancements and challenges related to the electrification of transportation in order to include that view in the development of his Fellowship proposal and future research grant applications.
Provide opportunities for Sebastian to exchanging knowledge with potential partners, using his extensive experience in the design and development of power converters up to the MW-scale for renewable energy applications and energy storage systems.
Read Sebastian’s summary of the conference, with key insights about major challenges and research themes.
