Feasibility of cost reduction in a fuel cell compressor using interleaved controllers

Digipulse将利用这笔可行性研究拨款评估其新型逆变器架构(正在申请专利WO2021069479)的技术和商业潜力，该架构用于由中国合作伙伴为乘用车燃料电池应用开发的小型高速电动压缩机。该应用具有前瞻性，并与中国的市场趋势保持一致，因此存在巨大的市场进入机会。该项目的技术挑战性意味着，包括这种特殊的Digipulse逆变器在内的新解决方案有潜力实现商业成熟。中国每年生产2000万辆乘用车，其中40万辆是混合动力车。在最高层面，中国的目标是让混合动力汽车成为主流，作为“中国制造2025”计划的一部分。这将带动中国的小型燃料电池市场的增长。在过去的五年里，上汽、樱桃和北汽都生产了燃料电池汽车原型。小型燃料电池对气压的要求与大型燃料电池相似(具有相同的基本化学和技术)，但它们需要更低的空气流速。低成本的空气压缩机是涡轮机械，根据其叶片尖端的线速度产生压力。低流量透平机械压缩机的直径很小，必须以极快的速度旋转才能产生可接受的压力比。这推动了对能够控制高速电机的廉价逆变器的需求。

Digipulse will use this feasibility study grant to assess the technical and commercial potential of its novel inverter architecture (patent pending WO2021069479) in a small, high-speed, motor-driven compressor being developed by a Chinese partner for a passenger vehicle fuel cell application. The application is forward-looking and aligned with market trends in China, so there is a tremendous market entry opportunity. The technically challenging nature of the project means that novel solutions, including this particular Digipulse inverter, have the potential to be pulled through to commercial maturity.China produces 20m passenger cars per year, of which 400k are hybrids.\[statista.com\] At the top level, China aims to make hybrid vehicles mainstream as part of the "Made in China 2025" plan. This will lead to growth in China's small fuel cell market. In the last five years, SAIC, Cherry and BAIC have all produced fuel cell vehicle prototypes.\[PR Newswire\]Small fuel cells require similar air pressure to large fuel cells (having the same basic chemistry and technology), but they require lower air flow rates. Low-cost air compressors are turbomachines, and these produce pressure according to the linear velocity of their blade tips. Low-flow turbomachine compressors have small diameters and must spin extremely quickly to produce acceptable pressure ratios. This drives a requirement for cheap inverters capable of controlling high-speed motors.