A New Low-Cost Battery Charger with High Efficiency

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AC/DC converters are used in many applications such as renewable energy systems, energy storage systems,and electric vehicles. One of the main applications of AC/DC converters is in battery chargers. Essentially,battery chargers convert AC power to DC power in order to charge a battery from the utility grid. Very highdemand, especially from the automotive industry, has driven the exponential growth of the global batterymarket to over $60 billion. Thus, there has recently been a very high demand for high performance batterychargers.Current battery chargers usually utilize a two-stage power conversion system in order to charge the battery.Two-stage power conversion results in low efficiency and poor performance. Also, the thermal management ofthe power converter is challenging due to its low efficiency (usually fans and/or large heatsinks are used tohave safe thermal operation).Delta-Q Technologies is seeking for a cost-effective solution that provides very efficient battery charging.Thus, the main objective of the proposed research program is to design and implement a single-stage powerconversion system for a battery charger. The single-stage power conversion system is based on a new family ofpower converters, which is able to enhance the performance without adding extra cost to the system. Thisconverter will utilize minimum number of passive components, leading to a cost-effective solution for thisapplication.This grant will support the design and implementation of a battery charger prototype based on the proposedpower circuit topology. This prototype will be evaluated using the test platform at Delta-Q in order to confirmits superior performance. This project will help Delta-Q develop cutting-edge technology for high performancebattery charging applications. Furthermore, developing high performance battery chargers will place Canada atthe forefront of battery charging technology.