Recent developments in the electricity sector encourage a high penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In addition, European policies are pushing for mass deployment of Electric Vehicles (EVs). Due to their non-controllable characteristics, these loads have brought new challenges in distribution networks, resulting in increased difficulty for Distribution System Operators (DSOs) to guarantee a safe and reliable operation of the grid. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) are promising solutions for mitigating the impact of the new loads and RES. In this paper, different aspects of the BESS's integration in distribution grids are reviewed. At first, the physical layer will be considered, focusing on the main battery technologies commercially available and on the power electronics converter. Secondly, the different functionalities that a grid-connected BESS can provide will be investigated, and then its sizing, location and control in distribution network will be discussed. In addition, an overview of actual BESSs installations is given. All in all, this paper aims at providing a comprehensive view of BESSs integration in distribution grids, highlighting the main focus, challenges, and research gaps for each one of these aspects.

This work presents an automated design procedure for series parallel resonant converters (LCC) employed in electrostatic precipitator (ESP) power supplies, which reduces the designer effort significantly. The requirements for the power supplies in ESP applications and means to derive an accurate mathematical model of the LCC converter, such as the power loss from commercial insulated-gate bipolar transistors, are described in detail in this paper. The converter parameters, such as resonant tank elements, are selected in order to improve the overall efficiency of the system, when a typical ESP energization operation range is considered. The analysis comprises two different control strategies: the conventional variable frequency control and the dual control. Both control strategies are analyzed by comparing semiconductor losses of five commercial modules. Finally, the circuit operation and design are verified with a 60 kW LCC resonant converter test setup.

This paper presents highly efficient three-phase high-power-factor hybrid rectifiers assembled by the parallel connection of a three-phase diode-bridge rectifier and series dc-dc boost converter with a two- or three-level unidirectional pulse width modulation (PWM) rectifier. The idea is to obtain a rectifier that is robust, highly efficient, and simple as a diode-based rectifier and also able to benefit from the PWM rectifier capability to reduce the line current harmonic content. Exemplary three-phase unidirectional hybrid systems built with a two-level delta-switch rectifier and three-level T-type or VIENNA six-switch rectifiers are suggested. Additionally, control schemes, which are appropriate for safeguarding the high-power-factor operation while improving the power sharing rating of the hybrid paralleled rectifier units and able to handle a phase loss without changing the controller structure, are proposed. In order to evaluate the studied hybrid rectifiers, first, an efficiency comparison between two- and three-level hybrid systems with conventional PWM rectifiers is performed. After that, the loss calculations are extended to a variable chip area to allow a fair comparison between these rectifiers. Interestingly, it is shown that the presented hybrid systems not only can achieve a higher efficiency but also require less silicon area than the single PWM rectifiers they are based on. Finally, experimental results obtained with an assembled unidirectional hybrid delta-switch rectifier prototype are presented in order to demonstrate the performance and advantages of this solution.

This paper introduces a novel three-phase buck-type unity power factor rectifier appropriate for high power Electric Vehicle battery charging mains interfaces. The characteristics of the converter, named the Swiss Rectifier, including the principle of operation, modulation strategy, suitable control structure, and dimensioning equations are described in detail. Additionally, the proposed rectifier is compared to a conventional 6-switch buck-type ac-dc power conversion. According to the results, the Swiss Rectifier is the topology of choice for a buck-type PFC. Finally, the feasibility of the Swiss Rectifier concept for buck-type rectifier applications is demonstrated by means of a hardware prototype.

DC power distribution systems for data centers, industrial applications and residential areas are expected to provide higher efficiency, higher reliability and lower cost compared to ac systems and have been an important research topic in recent years. In these applications an efficient power factor correction rectifier, supplying the dc distribution bus from the conventional three-phase ac mains is typically required. This paper analyzes the three-phase, buck-type, SWISS Rectifier for the realization of an ultra-high efficiency PFC rectifier stage with 400V rms ac input and 400V dc output voltage. It is shown that the rectifier's mains current THD can be improved by interleaving two converter output stages. The dc output filter is implemented using an Integrated Common Mode Coupled Inductor which ensures equal current sharing and provides common mode EMI filter inductance. The necessary design equations for selecting semiconductors, magnetic core and number of turns and the EMI filter are discussed and an ultra-high efficient 8kW, 4kW/dm3 (64W/in) prototype converter using 1.2kV SiC MOSFETS is designed. Measurements confirm a full-load efficiency of 99.16% and a peak efficiency of 99.26% and the compliance to CISPR 11 Class B conducted emission limits.

This article analyzes, designs, and tests a reconfigurable phase shift full-bridge (r-PSFB) isolated dc/dc converter well suited for a wide voltage operating range. By controlling the auxiliary switches, a series or parallel connection can be realized on the secondary side of the converter. As a result, the r-PSFB converter can operate in an extremely wide voltage range without compromising the system efficiency. In this article, the characteristics of the r-PSFB converter and its design considerations are discussed in detail. An 11-kW r-PSFB converter prototype with 640–840-V input voltage and 250–1000-V output voltage ranges is developed and tested to validate the analysis and efficiency of the designed converter. A comparative study against a conventional PSFB converter is conducted for benchmark purposes to prove the advantages of the studied r-PSFB converter.