Collaborative Research: Stacked Controlled-Cell Power Conversion Architecture for Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(Public Law 111-5)资助的。这项研究的目标是开发一种新的光伏发电转换体系结构，提供比现有技术更大的改进，包括更大的能量提取；提高对部分阴影、电池失配和老化的稳健性；以及提高系统可靠性和降低成本。该方法是利用集成的CMOS功率转换和控制电路来制造受控的光伏电池。可以串联堆叠在一起，连接到大功率并网逆变器。智慧价值这项工作是一项跨学科的工作，将开发和融合纳米材料、IC电路设计、功率拓扑和非线性动力学方面的进展，以实现光伏系统性能的大幅提高。更广泛的影响该项目开发的方法可以在光伏发电量、系统成本、可靠性和系统效率方面提供重大改进。这将加快光伏技术的应用，提高发电效率，以更低的成本为社会提供清洁能源。本科生和研究生将为研究做出贡献，并将获得发展他们的研究技能的机会。将鼓励代表人数不足的群体参加，并为这些群体中的个人提供认真的指导。将加强和扩大跨大学研究协作，将教育活动包括在内，例如制定与研究有关的课程和教育媒体。与麻省理工学院太阳能汽车团队和一所小学的合作伙伴关系将被用来发展对K-12学生的推广，以促进科学和工程。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The objective of this research is to develop a new architecture for photovoltaic power conversion that provides substantial improvements over existing technology, including greater energy extraction; improved robustness to partial shading, cell mismatch and aging; and improved system reliability and reduced cost. The approach is to use integrated CMOS power conversion and control circuits to create ?controlled PV cells? that can be stacked in series strings for connection to a high-power grid-tie inverter. Intellectual MeritThe work is an interdisciplinary effort that will develop and merge advances in nanomaterials, IC circuit design, power topologies, and nonlinear dynamics to achieve greatly improved levels of performance in PV systems. Broader ImpactsThe approach developed by this project can provide major improvements in PV power yield, system cost, reliability, and system efficiency. This will accelerate application of PV technologies and allow greater power yield, providing society with clean energy at lower cost. Undergraduate and graduate students will contribute to the research and will be provided with opportunities to develop their research skills. Participation of underrepresented groups will be encouraged, and individuals in these groups will be provided with careful mentoring. A cross-university research collaboration will be strengthened and extended to include educational activities, such as development of curricula and educational media linked to the research. Partnerships with the MIT Solar Car Team and an elementary school will be used to develop outreach to K-12 students to promote science and engineering.