Jean Bélanger M.Sc.A
Co-founder, CEO and CTO
More than 55 years’ experience
Professional memberships:
Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ)
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
Canadian Academy of Engineering
SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE:
Jean Bélanger is the co-founder, CEO, and CTO of OPAL-RT Technologies. Under his direction and technological leadership, OPAL-RT has become a well-known developer of state-of-the-art real-time simulators capable of simulating all types of mechanical and electrical systems, including the fastest power electronic converters used in a wide range of industries—from hybrid vehicles to electrical-driven aircraft, and from microgrids to large AC/DC power systems.
Mr. Bélanger has over 55 years of professional experience. He began his career at Hydro-Quebec’s System Planning Division for the design of several aspects of the James Bay 735-kV transmission systems. He also worked at the IREQ where he contributed to the design and construction of Hydro-Quebec real-time simulators.
Mr. Bélanger is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, CIGRE and the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He received his electrical engineering degree in 1971 at Laval University in Quebec City, and his master’s degree from the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
Title: FPGA-Based EMT Simulation of Power-Electronic-Dominated Grids: Impacts of IBRs, EV Charging, and Data Centers on T & D Stability
Abstract :Transmission and distribution systems are undergoing a rapid transformation from networks dominated by large synchronous generators and passive loads to highly interconnected systems dominated by power electronic converters. The retirement of large fossil-fuel-based generation, the deployment of HVDC interconnections, the integration of offshore wind and utility-scale renewable generation, and the growth of distributed solar resources are significantly changing grid dynamic behavior. At the same time, distribution networks are being reshaped by rooftop photovoltaic systems, bidirectional EV charging, battery energy storage, and large data centers equipped with local generation, inverter-based UPS systems, and advanced power conversion interfaces.
This transition reduces the effective inertia of the power system and shifts critical dynamic phenomena from electromechanical time scales to fast converter-control, protection, and switching time scales. Although individual inverter-based resources may be stable when tested independently, the stability of large networks composed of converters from multiple OEMs is not guaranteed. The challenge is further increased by the use of proprietary controller models, often delivered as precompiled black-box code and available only for specific simulation platforms, limiting transparency, interoperability, and model validation.
These developments create new challenges for planners, protection engineers, and system operators, particularly in assessing stability, fault response, interaction risks, and mitigation measures in low-inertia grids. This presentation will discuss the role of accurate electromagnetic transient simulation and real-time hardware-in-the-loop testing for power-electronic-dominated transmission and distribution systems. It will focus on OPAL-RT FPGA-based power electronic simulation technology, including eHS, for detailed converter and controller interaction studies, and on the use of HYPERSIM for large-scale EMT and stability assessment of grids with high penetration of inverter-based resources, EV charging infrastructure, and data-center loads. The presentation will highlight how these tools can support model validation, protection testing, interoperability assessment, and the development of resilient operating strategies for future sustainable energy and transportation ecosystems.
Abstract: Digital transformation has wired the grid with sensors, and edge intelligence across generation, transmission, and distribution. AI can now compress operator decision latency, fuse PMU, SCADA, and network traffic into coherent situational awareness, detect and localize cyber and physical events, and recommend control actions under cognitive overload. This talk will discuss about tools enabling grid resilience through a cyber-physical data anomaly detector, and a situationally aware assistant for grid operators. Every AI tool is also a target. The same model that supports the grid resilience also widens its attack surface: data poisoning during training, adversarial perturbations on measurement streams, model inversion and extraction, prompt injection, and context manipulation. The adversary is no longer only a human at a keyboard. It is one model built to deceive another, at machine speed. Defense must therefore also be intelligent. The resolution is architectural, not only algorithmic, and some of these inspired by infectious disease ecology, where innate barriers act independently of the slower adaptive response to provide cyber-immunity. This talk closes by pulling the three threads together: AI earns its place in grid resilience, AI carries vulnerabilities that another AI must help defend, and neither stands without a deterministic, AI free floor and an operator who stays in the loop.
Speaker Bio: Anurag K. Srivastava holds the Raymond J. Lane Professorship and serves as Chairperson of the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department at West Virginia University. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at Washington State University and a senior scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Lab. He earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 2005. Dr. Srivastava’s research focuses on data-driven algorithms and tools for cyber-resilient electric energy systems. His impactful research projects have resulted in the implementation of tools at utility control centers, supported by over $66M in funding from entities such as the US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Siemens Corporate Research, Electric Power Research Institute, Schweitzer Engineering Lab, Power System Engineering Research Center, Office of Naval Research, and various National Labs. Dr. Srivastava has delivered 50+ keynotes, tutorials, and IEEE distinguished lectures in more than 20 countries. He is an IEEE Fellow, member of several CIGRE Working Groups (WGs), leading multiple IEEE technical WGs and subcommitte (Bulk Power System Operation, Voltage Stability, Tools for Grid Resiliency, Microgrid Applications and Implementation and Distributed Optimization) and the author of over 440 technical publications, 4 books, and 3 patents.
Dr. Anurag K Srivastava
Raymond J. Lane Professor and Chairperson,
Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Director, Smart Grid REsearch and Analytics Lab (SG-REAL)
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA
Senior Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Lab, Richland, WA
Dr. Mukesh Nagpal
Protection Engineering in Energy Transition:
When Traditional Assumptions No Longer Hold
Abstract: The electric power industry is undergoing its most significant transformation since the widespread adoption of extra-high-voltage transmission systems. Utilities worldwide are simultaneously expanding long-distance transmission networks to support large-scale power transfers, including the rapidly growing demand from data centers, while integrating unprecedented levels of inverter-based resources, such as solar, wind, and battery energy storage systems. Together, these developments are reshaping the fundamental behavior of power systems and challenging many of the assumptions upon which modern protection philosophies were built.
Historically, protection engineers relied on predictable system characteristics: synchronous-machine fault currents, naturally occurring current zero crossings, stable system inertia, and well-understood transient phenomena. Emerging grid conditions, however, are exposing the limitations of these traditional assumptions. Highly shunt-compensated extra-high-voltage transmission lines can exhibit delayed or missing current zero crossings, resonant phenomena, temporary overvoltages, and unexpected circuit breaker performance. At the same time, inverter-based resources introduce limited and software-controlled fault current contributions, unconventional negative-sequence current behavior, and dynamic control responses that can challenge the performance of conventional protection schemes.
Drawing upon field investigations, forensic analysis of protection misoperations, electromagnetic transient studies, and practical utility experience, this keynote examines how these seemingly unrelated challenges share a common theme: the increasing complexity and interdependence of modern power systems. The presentation highlights lessons learned from both highly compensated EHV transmission networks and inverter-dominated power systems, emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary approaches that integrate planning, protection, controls, operations, power electronics, and system studies.
The keynote concludes with perspectives on the future of protection engineering and the skills, tools, and collaboration required to ensure dependable, secure, and resilient protection systems that support a sustainable and reliable energy ecosystem.
Keywords: Energy transition, inverter-based resources, extra-high-voltage transmission, protection engineering, grid resilience, shunt compensation, power system protection, electromagnetic transients, protection philosophy, transmission reliability.
Dr. Mukesh Nagpal is a Senior Associate Technical Consultant with Burns & McDonnell, specializing in power system protection, renewable energy integration, and extra-high-voltage transmission systems. He is an IEEE Fellow and a Fellow of Engineers Canada, and he serves as the Canadian National Representative to the CIGRE Protection and Automation (B5) Study Committee.
Over a career spanning more than 35 years, Dr. Nagpal has contributed to renewable integration, transmission planning, protection system design, and forensic analysis of major system disturbances. He has authored or co-authored approximately 60 technical papers and is a frequent speaker at international industry conferences.
His contributions have been recognized through numerous honours, including the 2021 IEEE PES Ramakumar Family Renewable Energy Excellence Award and the 2016 R.A. McLachlan Memorial Award, the highest engineering honour bestowed by Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
Outside of his professional activities, Dr. Nagpal enjoys mentoring young engineers, writing technical papers, and exploring new destinations around the world.
Topic : To be decided
Abstract: To be decided
Manimaran Govindarasu
Bio : Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. His research expertise is in the areas of cyber security of smart grid, cyber security, and real-time systems. He has co-authored over 125 peer-reviewed publications in these areas. He is a co-author of the text “Resource Management in Real-Time Systems and Networks,” MIT Press, 2001. He has given tutorials in reputed conferences and delivered industry short courses on the subject of cyber security. He has served in leadership roles in many IEEE conferences, symposiums, and workshops. He had contributed to the US DoE NASPInet specification project. He serves on the editorial board of IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid and is a co-editor of the upcoming IEEE Power & Energy special issue (in 2012) on smart grid cyber security, and serves as the Chair of Cyber Security Task Force at IEEE PES Society PSACE-CAMS Subcommittee.
Prof. Frede Blaabjerg
BIO: Frede Blaabjerg (S’86–M’88–SM’97–F’03) was with ABB-Scandia, Randers, Denmark, from 1987 to 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he got the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering at Aalborg University in 1995. He became an Assistant Professor in 1992, an Associate Professor in 1996, and a Full Professor of power electronics and drives in 1998 at AAU Energy. From 2017 he became a Villum Investigator. He is honoris causa at University Politehnica Timisoara (UPT), Romania in 2017; Tallinn Technical University (TTU), Estonia in 2018 and Aalto University, Finland in 2026 as well as honorary professor of University of Parma in 2025. His current research interests include power electronics and its applications such as in wind turbines, PV systems, reliability, Power-2-X, power quality and adjustable speed drives. He has published more than 800 journal papers in the fields of power electronics and its applications. He is the co-author of ten monographs and editor of twenty books in power electronics and its applications eg. the series (4 volumes) Control of Power Electronic Converters and Systems published by Academic Press/Elsevier. He has received 50 IEEE Prize Paper Awards, the IEEE PELS Distinguished Service Award in 2009, the EPE-PEMC Council Award in 2010, the IEEE William E. Newell Power Electronics Award 2014, the Villum Kann Rasmussen Research Award 2014, the Global Energy Prize in 2019 and the 2020 IEEE Edison Medal. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS from 2006 to 2012. He has been Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Power Electronics Society from 2005 to 2007 and for the IEEE Industry Applications Society from 2010 to 2011 as well as 2017 to 2018. In 2019-2020 he served as a President of IEEE Power Electronics Society. He has been Vice-President of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences. He is nominated in 2014-2021 by Thomson Reuters to be between the most 250 cited researchers in Engineering in the world.
Topic: Power Electronics Technology – Trends and Applications
Abstract:The world is becoming more and more electrified combined as the consumption is steadily increasing – we expect doubling until 2050 – at the same time there is a large transition of power generation from fossil fuel to renewable energy which all together challenges the modern power system but also gives many new opportunities. We also see large steps being taken to electrify the transportation – where better environment, independency as well as higher efficiency are driving factors. One of the most important technologies to move this forward is the power electronics technology which has been emerging for decades and challenges are still seen in the technology usage. This presentation will be forward looking in some exciting research areas to further improve the technology and the systems it is used in. Following main topics will be discussed :
- The Evolution of Power Devices
- Renewable Generation
- Reliability in Power Electronics and use of AI Power Electronic based Power System
Topic:Grid-Scale Storage for Energy Assurance: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities Joydeep Mitra, Michigan State University
Abstract: As the grid transforms rapidly, utilities are seeing an increasing need for grid-scale storage to help maintain service reliability. There is now a confluence of several factors driving this need. For one thing, the exponential growth of renewable energy resources over the last three decades has created operational challenges stemming from the variability and inertial shortcomings of the resources, and these challenges can be mitigated using energy storage. With increasing penetration of renewable resources, storage has found application in other essential reliability services for the grid. Moreover, the increasing incidence of natural disasters in recent years has brought to light the need for longer duration storage. Further, the recent appearance of large, concentrated loads like electrolyzers and AI data centers has created additional needs for high-capacity grid-scale storage to benefit both the facilities as well as the grid. The talk will present the impact of these factors on grid reliability, and the emerging role of long-duration storage. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on opportunities and choices that impact energy assurance.
Prof. Joydeep Mitra
Bio: Joydeep Mitra (Ph.D., FIEEE) is MSU Foundation Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Director of the Energy Reliability & Security (ERiSe) Laboratory, and Senior Faculty Associate at the Institute of Public Utilities. He also holds an honorary position with Sandia National Laboratories as Distinguished Visiting Scientist. Prof. Mitra is known for his contributions to power system reliability analysis and reliability-based planning. He has over 300 publications and patents in the power systems area; he is co-author of the book, "Electric Power Grid Reliability Evaluation: Models and Methods," and of IEEE Standard 762, a standard on reliability reporting. He is recipient of the 2025 IEEE-PES Douglas Staszesky Distribution Automation Award, the 2019 IEEE-PES Roy Billinton Power System Reliability Award and the 2020 PMAPS Merit Award. Prof. Mitra serves as a member of the IEEE Press Editorial Board. In the past he has served as Chair of the IEEE-PES Fellow Evaluation Committee, Chair of the IEEE-PES Analytic Methods for Power Systems Committee, Chair of several IEEE-PES Subcommittees, and on the Editorial Boards of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and Power Engineering Letters, the IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, and the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications. Prof. Mitra is a Fellow of the IEEE and an IEEE-PES Distinguished Lecturer.
Rathore, Akshay Kumar
Bio: Akshay Kumar Rathore is a Professor and the Director of the Power and Energy Systems Research Area in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on power electronics and control of electric motor drives. He is an IEEE Fellow and a recipient of several prestigious awards, such as 2013 IEEE IAS Andrew Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award, 2014 Isao Takahashi Power Electronics Award, 2017 IEEE David Irwin Early Career Award, 2020 IEEE Bimal Bose Award for Industrial Electronics Applications in Energy Systems, 2021 Nagamori Award, 2023 distinguished alumnus award (young achiever) from IIT (BHU) Varanasi, India, and 2026 IEEE IAS Distinguished Service Award. During his tenure at Concordia University in Canada, he was listed in the Provost Circle of Distinction in 2021. Prof. Rathore has contributed to above 300 research articles including about 110 in IEEE Transactions. He edited a book on Advanced Concepts and Technologies for Electric Transportation, published by CRC Press in 2022 . He has delivered over 300 invited expert talks, distinguished lectures, webinars, keynotes, and tutorials at various events globally. He is currently a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, Chair of the IEEE IAS Andrew W Smith Outstanding Young Member Achievement Award Committee and serves on the committees for IEEE Medal in Power Engineering, IEEE Nikola Tesla Award, and IEEE Fellow Committee.
Topic: Multifunctional Natural PFC Power Electronic Rectifiers for Flexible Mixed Source EV Charging Applications
Abstract: AC/DC power electronic converters are employed in majority of the consumer electronics as well as in industrial applications including electric vehicle (EV) battery recharging application. Power factor correction (PFC) through active front-end conversion is essential instead of diode rectifiers to obtain high efficiency and meet the power quality requirements such as unity power factor (UPF), low total harmonic distortion (THD), etc. Discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) mode of operation of power electronic converter is known for reduced inductor size and inherent zero current switching of the power semiconductor devices. In addition, DCM mode of operation offers natural PFC without the requirement of source (grid) current waveshaping and phase locked loop (PLL) and that too with a single sensor single loop control. Thus, DCM simplifies the PFC control system requirements (hardware and software) and makes it robust. The same circuits can ne utilised as DC/DC converters offering flexible charging for Solar-to-Vehicle (S2V) as well as Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) operations. This talk will share a few isolated and non-isolated novel AC/DC PFC power electronic topologies for the EV battery charging application along with their merits, design, experimental results, and performance evaluation.