Luca Corradini

Imagine a future where electric vehicle charging stations or AI data center power supply systems can be built like LEGO bricks — small, stackable units that can expand as demand grows. 

Luca Corradini, associate professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is embarking on such a project at the University of Colorado Boulder, thanks to a $1.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

“This research serves as an excellent example of the crucial importance and versatility of power electronics in today’s rapidly evolving energy technology landscape,” said Corradini. “With these innovations, industries could adopt new energy conversion solutions while making power grids more resilient, flexible and affordable.” 

At its core, the project will design a Universal AC-DC Electrical Power Mover (UPM) to convert electricity from one form to another — alternating current (AC), which powers our homes and businesses, into direct current (DC), the type needed for things like fast EV charging, storing energy from solar panels or powering large AI data centers. Unlike today’s technologies, the UPM is both modular and versatile.

“We’re designing the UPM as a compact ‘brick’ that can connect directly to other identical bricks just like LEGOs,” Corradini said, who is also a faculty member at the Colorado Power Electronics Center (CoPEC). “Companies can start small and scale up their systems as needed, without a complete redesign.”

This stackable design not only simplifies installation but also allows systems to connect seamlessly to different kinds of power grids, whether lower voltage single-phase systems used in homes, or three-phase power utilized on long-distance high tension lines. Flexibility across electric grids is especially important in the United States since grid connections vary widely across regions.

Traditional power transformers, essential devices that convert voltage levels for safe and efficient electricity use, have been around for more than a century. More modern solid-state transformers are beginning to replace them, but they remain limited in their versatility and scalability.

Corradini, along with Distinguished Professor Dragan Maksimovic who is collaborating on the project, is working to break through those barriers. The UPM’s modularity and reconfigurable design could reduce costs across design, manufacturing, deployment and maintenance stages, while also opening new possibilities for energy systems.

Promising applications include EV fast charging stations, which today require costly, large-scale infrastructure, as well as large AI data centers, whose tremendous growth in electricity demand calls for scalable power solutions.

The system’s bi-directional capability also means energy could flow both ways: from the grid to vehicles or from sources like solar panels back into the grid. That could prove especially valuable in rural or poorly served areas, where additional energy support is needed.

In partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the researchers and graduate students will leverage the ARPA-E funding for extensive prototyping, lab equipment and technology-to-market efforts, including patent development and industry outreach.