A Hybrid PV-Battery Unit Optimised for LV Grids Using GaN Transistors

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Under their “Gone Green” deployment scenario, National Grid forecast that energy generated fromphotovoltaics (PV) in the UK is expected to rise from 2 to 15 GW over the next 20 years. This is being driven bythe UK’s legal obligations around installing renewable energy sources & cutting greenhouse gases, the risingcost of energy & concerns around the security of supply – the so-called energy “trilemma”. Power electronicconverters are a key enabling technology for PV and other low-carbon technologies (LCTs). However the use ofLCTs has resulted in problems for the electrical distribution nerwork such as supply voltage distortion and over-voltages, which threaten to limit or delay their uptake. This project aims to mitigate this threat by exploitingthe benefits of a new Gallium Nitride power transistor module, which will be developed for use in a hybrid PV-battery unit for residential applications, but will have much broader applications e.g. electric vehicle charging &micro-CHP. These units will be much smaller, lighter & have lower cost than existing Silicon based units andtheir deployment will lead to an increase in the maximum allowable installed capacity on the network.