Advanced Power Electronic Converters for Improved Energy Efficiency in Photovoltaic and Automotive Applications

先进的电力电子转换器可提高光伏和汽车应用的能源效率

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-05209
• 负责人: Trescases, Olivier
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=588274
• 关键词: Advanced; Power; Electronic; Converters; Improved

Power Electronic Converters (PEC) have played a pivotal role in the steadily increasing global energy efficiency over the past 35 years, across transportation, industrial, commercial and residential sectors. PECs are the key enabling technology for efficiently harvesting electrical energy from renewable sources, and delivering it to the modern electrical loads that we rely on for a high standard of living. The power electronics component market represents approximately $20 Billion today and is rapidly growing. From 1990 to 2010, the efficiency gains achieved using PECs alone have eliminated the need to build an estimated 930 one-Gigawatt coal-fired power plants, saving $ 2.794 Trillion globally. Global awareness in climate change, compounded by the steadily rising demand for energy, underscores the need for cheap yet robust low-carbon technologies. The mass deployment of technologies such as Photovoltaics (PV) and Electric Vehicles (EV) will greatly alleviate our future global energy challenges, however today their cost/performance ratio remains far too high to be truly disruptive on a large scale. The high cost of PV systems remains the critical obstacle to achieving a penetration that exceeds 10% of the energy mix by 2030 in North America. While EVs consume nine times less energy than conventional vehicles, they represent only 0.4 % of the market in Canada. The long-term objective is to demonstrate PEC innovations, at the device, circuit and system level, to push these and future low-carbon applications beyond early adopters over the next 10 years. The dominant research trend in PECs is towards 1) increased switching frequency to reduce the size, cost and weight of the components, 2) deploying advanced digital control schemes to make PECs more modular, adaptive, re-configurable and reliable and 3) leveraging new Smart Power IC fabrication technologies to integrate sensing, power-stage and control functions on-chip. The next frontier of power electronics lies in the proliferation of new wide-bandgap power devices using Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN), with the ultimate goal of providing unprecedented power density and energy savings. The grant will fund three synergistic projects with 12 HQPs, while providing valuable training in clean technologies for Canadian Engineers. The application focus of PV and EV is chosen based on the potential to achieve a high impact in modern society’s carbon footprint. The first project focuses on highly integrated 600 V GaN based PECs operating at multi-MHz switching frequencies. The second project is anchored around UofT’s one-of-a-kind custom EV prototype, which has a top speed of 130 km/h and a 210 km driving range; a record for this vehicle class. The work will focus on 1) a hybrid energy storage system comprised of ultracapacitors and lithium batteries with GPS-based power-mix optimization and 2) a new self-learning thermal management approach for the battery pack, specifically optimized for the cold Canadian climate. Finally, the third project extends our past work on Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking (DMPPT) in PV applications to an exciting new aerospace technology: the Solarship. The Canadian-made buoyant electric aircraft was conceived to deliver supplies in remote areas where roads, fuel and electrical infrastructure is sparse or non-existent, making conventional vehicles unpractical. The Helium filled wing creates buoyancy and increases the payload. Two electric motors are supplied by a lithium battery, which is charged using the large wing-mounted PV array during flight. Specialized PECs based on the partial-power-processing concept will be developed to maximize the solar energy harvesting in this weight sensitive application.

过去35年来，电力电子转换器（PEC）在交通、工业、商业和住宅领域稳步提高全球能源效率方面发挥了关键作用。佩奇是从可再生能源中有效获取电能的关键技术，并将其输送到我们赖以实现高生活水平的现代电力负载。电力电子元件市场目前约为200亿美元，并且正在迅速增长。从1990年到2010年，仅使用佩奇实现的效率提高就消除了建造估计930个千兆瓦燃煤电厂的需要，在全球范围内节省了2.794万亿美元。全球对气候变化的认识，加上对能源的需求稳步上升，突出表明需要廉价而强大的低碳技术。光伏（PV）和电动汽车（EV）等技术的大规模部署将大大缓解我们未来的全球能源挑战，但今天它们的成本/性能比仍然太高，无法真正大规模地破坏。光伏系统的高成本仍然是到2030年在北美实现超过10%的能源结构的关键障碍。虽然电动汽车的能耗比传统汽车低9倍，但它们在加拿大的市场份额仅为0.4%。长期目标是展示PEC在器件、电路和系统层面的创新，在未来10年内推动这些和未来的低碳应用超越早期采用者。 佩奇的主导研究趋势是1）提高开关频率，以降低元件的尺寸、成本和重量，2）部署先进的数字控制方案，使佩奇更具模块化、自适应性、可重新配置和可靠性，以及3）利用新的智能功率IC制造技术在芯片上集成传感、功率级和控制功能。电力电子的下一个前沿在于使用碳化硅（SiC）和氮化镓（GaN）的新型宽带隙功率器件的扩散，其最终目标是提供前所未有的功率密度和节能。 这笔赠款将资助三个协同项目与12个HQP，同时提供宝贵的培训，在清洁技术为加拿大工程师。选择光伏和电动汽车的应用重点是基于对现代社会碳足迹产生重大影响的潜力。第一个项目的重点是高度集成的600 V GaN基佩奇工作在几MHz的开关频率。第二个项目是围绕UofT独一无二的定制电动汽车原型，其最高速度为130 km/h，行驶里程为210 km;这是该车型的记录。这项工作将集中在1）一个由超级电容器和锂电池组成的混合储能系统，以及基于GPS的功率组合优化，2）一种新的电池组自学习热管理方法，专门针对加拿大寒冷的气候进行优化。最后，第三个项目将我们过去在光伏应用中的分布式最大功率点跟踪（DMPPT）方面的工作扩展到令人兴奋的新航空航天技术：太阳能船。这架由哥伦比亚制造的浮力电动飞机被设计用于在道路、燃料和电力基础设施稀少或不存在的偏远地区运送物资，这使得传统车辆变得不实用。充满氦气的机翼可以产生浮力并增加有效载荷。两个电动机由锂电池供电，锂电池在飞行期间使用大型机翼安装的光伏阵列充电。将开发基于部分功率处理概念的专用佩奇，以在这种重量敏感的应用中最大限度地收集太阳能。