Semikron, PCS and the TU Dresden have completed their cooperative research project after three years. Under the heading “More efficient use of regenerative energies with multi-level topologies – EEMT”, the project has resulted in the design of a new type of converter system.
The project was backed by the German Ministry of Education and Research. During the course of the research project, SEMIKRON was tasked with designing an inverter system with new modular phase components, which would then be integrated into a power converter by PCS. The driver circuitry and protective components were developed by the Electrical Engineering Institute’s Chair for Power Electronics at the Technical University of Dresden. The original project focused on improving the efficiency of wind turbines applications but in the future it can be applied in other industries as well. With the converter system electrical energy that is generated using wind turbines or solar power modules can be efficiently and inexpensively converted for supplying the power supply network. In order for the generated power to meet the minimum feed-in quality requirements, standard converters now available in the market require electrical filter switches which result in high loss levels. The multi-level topology applied as part of the EEMT project has resulted in a reduction in the role of these filters and the resulting losses. For low-voltage applications that have their own grid connection transformers, such as wind turbines or solar power modules, the voltage level can now be increased to just under the medium voltage level. To test the functionality and to check all of the technical features, a 1.0MW prototype was created as part of the project.