SAMCE 2025

INSPIRE
A visionary keynote that shows you the bigger picture
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Tobias Keller
Hitachi Energy

Title of Talk: "The evolvement of the largest and most complex structure built by humans and its influence on Power Semiconductors"

The electrical power grid has been built up over decades and many previously isolated sub-grids are connected to each other. The integration of renewable energy sources now leads to a sharp increase in power semiconductors in the distribution network with technologically very interesting prospects.

Tobias Keller graduated in 2004, from University of applied science Aargau, the Electrical Engineering Faculty, with a degree in power electronics, thermodynamics and electrical machines. At the end of 2004, he joined ABB Excitation systems and Synchronizing equipment business (Turgi, Switzerland) and held various engineering position until 2008. He holds the first patent on MEGATROL, ABB’s smart power package solution for reliable starts of gas turbines or any synchronous machine and another patent quenching arc faults in excitation systems. In 2008 he became the Head of global Technology and Support for ABB’s Excitation systems and Synchronizing equipment business. Between 2009 and 2015 he was the Vice President global Products and Marketing ABB Excitation systems and Synchronizing equipment and High Power Rectifier business. Starting from 2016 until 2019 he held the Vice President position for Vehicle Integration Engineering business in ABB’s Traction Business. Since April 2019, he is the Vice President of global Product Management in ABB Semiconductors (Lenzburg, Switzerland) now HITACHI ENERGY Semiconductors and a strong supporter of SiC used in power electronics  based on his application know how from traction and industrial applications. Tobias Keller is a senior member of IEEE (20127) and co-author of various papers. HITACHI ENERGY Semiconductors is one of the forerunners of SiC in power electronics.