A prominent American engineer has secured a scholarship to undertake fundamental and applied research at Curtin University on the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy into mining infrastructure.
Professor Iqbal Husain is the director of the Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) and the National Science Foundation Engineering Centre and a professor from the State Carolina University.
Working with Curtin researchers from the WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering and the School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Husain will focus on electrically driven mining infrastructure such as mining trucks, excavators, and loaders through the prestigious Fulbright Future Scholarship funded by the Kinghorn Foundation.
“In addition to the production and storage of renewable energy, finding optimal ways to recharge batteries will be the answer to rolling out electric infrastructure across the remote resources sector,” Husain said.
Curtin University vice-chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said she was delighted to welcome Husain to Curtin to undertake fundamental and applied research on the integration of electric transportation and renewable energy.
“Electric cars are the future of transport, especially in the United States, and we are seeing more and more environmentally conscious motorists in Australia,” Hayne said.
“To have electric transportation, we need to have reliable charging stations. Professor Husain boasts an impressive portfolio in the engineering space, and I look forward to seeing the real-world impacts of this exciting collaboration.”
Husain has designed, built and tested solid state transformer-based power electronic converters for grid applications and wide bandgap device-based electric motor drives for electric vehicles.
Fulbright Australia executive director Professor James Arvanitakis said he was proud to name Husain among the 2022 cohort of Fulbright Future Scholars.
“His project at Curtin University will have wide-ranging benefits for renewable energy systems both here, and in the United States. We look forward to seeing the impacts of his research take shape over the coming year.”