A Low Cost, High Capacity, Smart Residential Distribution Network Enabled By SiC Power Electronics

当今英国配电网络运营商(DNO)面临的主要挑战之一是对住宅网络供电的需求日益增长，例如一般负荷增长、电动汽车(EVS)的激增和电热。与此同时，由于分布式发电(DG)和储能设备连接的增加，也存在与违反电压限制相关的问题。该项目是在TSB可行性研究的基础上进行的，该研究表明，通过将本地电网相电压提高到400V(现有电缆的额定电压为600V)，可以在现有基础设施上实现对这些问题的经济高效解决方案。为了将每家的电压降回230V，DNO拥有的、低成本、99%效率的电力电子转换器(PECs)将需要安装在表箱中。我们之前的研究表明，99%的效率对于避免表箱过热至关重要，因此必须使用新的、低成本的SIC器件。然而，现有的商用SIC的成本非常高，这与对低成本的需求相冲突。因此，本项目将考虑一种新的、高度创新的碳化硅功率器件制造技术，即硅基3C碳化硅。该系统不仅将增加网络容量，还将为新兴的电动汽车充电、分布式发电和储能--“智能电网”--提供优化的连接。该项目将开发一个PEC原型，西部配电公司将在该项目的小规模演示中部署该原型。

One of the key challenges facing the UK electrical Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) today is the Increasing demandfor power being placed on residential networks e.g. general load growth, the proliferation of electrical vehicles (EVs) andelectrified heat. At the same time, there are problems associated with voltage limit violations caused by an increase in theconnection of distributed generation (DG) and energy storage devices. This project follows on from a TSB Feasibility Studywhich showed that a cost effective solution to these problems can be achieved on the existing infrastructure by increasingthe local network phase voltage to 400 V (existing cable is rated at 600V). To step the voltage back down to 230 V at eachhouse, DNO-owned, low-cost, 99% efficient power electronic converters (PECs) will need to be installed in the meter-box.Our previous study showed that the 99% efficiency was essential to avoid over-heating in the meter-box and hence new,low-cost SiC devices were mandatory. However, the cost of existing commercially available SiC is very high, whichconflicts with the need for low-cost. Therefore this project will consider a new, highly innovative fabrication technique forSiC power devices namely 3C SiC on Silicon. This system will not only increase network capacity, but also provideoptimised connections for emerging EV charging, DG and energy storage - the "smart-grid". The project will develop a PECprototype which will be deployed by Western Power Distribution in a small-scale demonstration of the project.