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

在过去的35年里，电力电子转换器（PEC）在运输、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。PECs是一项关键的技术，可以有效地从可再生能源中获取电能，并将其输送到我们赖以维持高水平生活的现代电力负荷中。如今，电力电子元件市场约为200亿美元，并且正在迅速增长。从1990年到2010年，仅使用PECs所取得的效率提升就消除了建造约930座千兆瓦燃煤电厂的需要，在全球节省了2.794万亿美元。全球对气候变化的认识，加上对能源需求的稳步增长，突显出对廉价而强大的低碳技术的需求。光伏（PV）和电动汽车（EV）等技术的大规模部署将极大地缓解我们未来的全球能源挑战，但目前它们的成本/性能比仍然太高，无法真正大规模颠覆。到2030年，光伏系统在北美能源结构中的渗透率将超过10%，而光伏系统的高成本仍然是实现这一目标的关键障碍。虽然电动汽车消耗的能源比传统汽车少九倍，但它们只占加拿大市场的0.4%。长期目标是在设备、电路和系统层面展示PEC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。** PECs的主要研究趋势是：1)增加开关频率以减小组件的尺寸、成本和重量；2)部署先进的数字控制方案，使PECs更加模块化、自适应、可重新配置和可靠；3)利用新的智能电源IC制造技术，将传感、功率级和控制功能集成在片上。电力电子的下一个前沿是使用碳化硅（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。**该赠款将资助12个HQPs的三个协同项目，同时为加拿大工程师提供清洁技术方面的宝贵培训。光伏和电动汽车的应用重点是根据其对现代社会碳足迹产生重大影响的潜力来选择的。第一个项目侧重于在多mhz开关频率下工作的基于600 V GaN的高度集成PECs。第二个项目将围绕UofT独一无二的定制电动汽车原型展开，该原型车的最高时速为130公里/小时，续航里程为210公里；此车辆类别的记录。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，该系统具有基于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了优化。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）的工作扩展到一个令人兴奋的新航空航天技术：太阳能飞船。这架加拿大制造的浮力电动飞机被设想用于在道路、燃料和电力基础设施稀少或根本不存在的偏远地区运送物资，这使得传统的交通工具不实用。充满氦气的机翼产生浮力并增加有效载荷。两个电动机由一块锂电池供电，在飞行过程中使用安装在机翼上的大型光伏阵列充电。将开发基于部分功率处理概念的专用PECs，以最大限度地在这种重量敏感应用中收集太阳能。

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.