Dr Rafael Pena Alzola

Senior Lecturer

Electronic and Electrical Engineering

Personal statement

Rafael Peña-Alzola received the combined licentiate and M.Sc. degree in industrial engineering from the University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain, in 2001, and the Ph.D. degree from the National University for Distance Learning (UNED), Madrid, Spain, in 2011. He has worked as an electrical engineer for several companies in Spain. From September 2012 to July 2013, he was Guest Postdoc at the Department of Energy Technology at Aalborg University in Aalborg, Denmark. From August 2014 to December 2016, he was Postdoc Research Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. From January 2017 to May 2017, he was with the University of Alcalá in Madrid, Spain for a short-term industrial collaboration. Since June 2017, he is with the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK initially as Research Fellow and since 2019, as a Lecturer within the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre for Electrical Power Systems, Institute for Energy and Environment. His research interests are energy storage, LCL-filters, solid-state transformers, power electronics for hybrid electric aircraft and innovative control techniques for power converters. He is an IEEE Senior Member and Associate Editor of the IEEE Open Journal of Power Electronics.

Publications

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Publications

Applications and services of solid-state transformers in active distribution networks : A critical review: Wald Felix, M. Hrishikesan V, Gomis-Bellmunt Oriol, Ji Haoran, Davoudi Masoud, Bidram Ali, Syed Mazheruddin, Josevski Martina, Brüske Sebastian, Kumar Chandan, Alzola Rafael Peña, Colak Ilknur, Pannala Sanjeev, Liserre Marco, Carne Giovanni De; IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid (2025); https://doi.org/10.1109/tsg.2025.3574007
A hybrid three-level buck converter with flying supercapacitor for high load current surge capability using peak current mode control: Lodge Finlay, Peña-Alzola Rafael, MacFadyen Martin, Norman Patrick, Sweet Mark, Burt Graeme; 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), pp. 3167-3173 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1109/apec48143.2025.10977446
Characterization of 650 V GaN transistors at cryogenic temperature in all-electric aircraft applications: Liao Yuchuan, Xiao Yudi, Elwakeel Abdelrahman, Alzola Rafael Pena, Zhang Min, Yuan Weijia; IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity Vol 35, pp. 1-7 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1109/tasc.2025.3531694
Enhanced Control for Integrated Active Power Decoupling in Single-Phase Three-Level Flying Capacitor PFC Converter: Balen Gleisson, Blanco Cristian, Navarro-Rodríguez Ángel, García Pablo, Peña-Alzola Rafael; 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) 2025 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC), pp. 1935-1939 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1109/apec48143.2025.10977223
Review of cryogenic power electronics for all-electric aircraft: Elwakeel Abdelrahman, Liao Yuchuan, Xiao Yudi, Peña Alzola Rafael, Zhang Min, Yuan Weijia; IEEE Access Vol 13, pp. 30646-30664 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3539572
A cryogenic isolated gate drive circuit for medium-voltage medium-current IGBT modules: Xiao Yudi, Liao Yuchuan, Ye Hanlin, Alzola Rafael Pena, Yuan Weijia, Zhang Min; 2024 CPSS & IEEE International Symposium on Energy Storage and Conversion (ISESC) 2024 CPSS & IEEE International Symposium on Energy Storage and Conversion (ISESC), pp. 280-286 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1109/isesc63657.2024.10785411

More publications

Research

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Professional Activities

Current-type Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Interface for Black Start Testing of Grid Forming Converter: Contributor; 19/10/2022

More professional activities

Projects

Coordinated Control and Operation of DERs in Converter Dominated Power Systems: Burt, Graeme (Principal Investigator) Feng, Zhiwang (Co-investigator) Pena Alzola, Rafael (Co-investigator) Seferi, Yljon (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2027
Modular DCDC Converters for Aerospace Applications: Norman, Patrick (Principal Investigator) Pena Alzola, Rafael (Co-investigator) MacFadyen, Martin (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2025
PFC Simulation Review: Pena Alzola, Rafael (Principal Investigator) Norman, Patrick (Co-investigator); Follow on work from 231087; 18-Jan-2024 - 04-Jan-2024
GKNAS Modelling and Requirements Capture: Norman, Patrick (Principal Investigator) Jones, Catherine (Co-investigator) Pena Alzola, Rafael (Co-investigator) Bradley, Luke (Research Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2025
Converter Design Review: Pena Alzola, Rafael (Principal Investigator) Norman, Patrick (Co-investigator); 16-Jan-2023 - 15-Jan-2023
Zero Emissions for Sustainable Transport 1 "ZEST1": Zhang, Min (Principal Investigator) Pena Alzola, Rafael (Co-investigator) Yuan, Weijia (Co-investigator); 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2026