SERC Chile academics Sebastián Rivera and Samir Kouro led the international team behind the article “Charging Infrastructure and Grid Integration for Electromobility,” honored with the Proceedings of the IEEE Best Paper Award 2025 for its contribution to scientific and technological advancement in the integration of electromobility into power systems.tems.
Santiago, October 27, 2025.- The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC Chile) celebrates a new international recognition for scientific excellence. The article “Charging Infrastructure and Grid Integration for Electromobility” has been honored with the Proceedings of the IEEE Best Paper Award 2025, a prize awarded by one of IEEE's most prestigious journals, with more than a century of history and a scope that encompasses all areas of electrical, electronic, and related engineering. This recognition marks a historic milestone, as it is the first time the award has been granted to a paper in the energy field, and it also marks the first time that Latin American researchers have received this distinction.
The award recognizes review or tutorial papers published within the last three years that stand out for their global relevance, academic rigor, and potential for long-term impact. In this edition, the jury distinguished an article that addresses one of the most critical challenges of the energy transition: how to integrate electric vehicle charging infrastructure into power grids in an efficient, flexible, and sustainable manner.
The publication led by two SERC Chile researchers, Sebastián Rivera and Samir Kouro, both from Line 5: Power Electronics and Energy Conversion. Their technical and conceptual contribution has been key to understanding the role that electromobility will play in the energy future, in a context where digitalization, power electronics, and demand management are transforming the way energy is produced and distributed.
The article analyzes how fast-charging stations can evolve from simple consumption points to smart nodes that interact with the grid, actively participating in voltage and frequency regulation, as well as in the integration of renewable energies.
Professor Sebastián Rivera, who conducted this research while at the Universidad de los Andes and currently serves as an academic at the Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), highlighted the originality and practical focus of the study. “Our goal was to illustrate the role of power electronics in electric vehicle charging from an industrial and applied perspective. In that process, we sought to demonstrate how chargers can take on a stabilizing role within the future power system, highlighting the additional functionalities they offer and their potential to actively contribute to the energy transition.”
Professor Samir Kouro, SERC researcher and academic at the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, highlighted the relevance of this recognition for applied research. “This award represents a significant boost for technological development in electromobility. It reflects the ability of academia and industry to work together in building the energy infrastructure of the future, and demonstrates that from Chile, we can contribute with frontier knowledge to global challenges.”
Finally, for the director of SERC Chile, Rodrigo Palma, this recognition constitutes a milestone that reinforces the country's positioning in the field of clean energy and sustainable mobility research. “Since its inception 12 years ago, the center has promoted interdisciplinary collaboration and the generation of knowledge applied to the challenges of the energy transition, combining advanced research with technology transfer.”
To review the article that received the 2025 recognition, here: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9940564
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