Objective
Experience has shown that many difficulties arise when installing, operating and maintaining specialized DC-technology in photovoltaic AC-supply systems which range from building applications to grid-comparable decentral electrification. This has stimulated first developments of small converters, especially grid connected and stand-alone inverters, allocated to single or only few modules. However, despite the widespread acceptance of this approach the specific costs of small inverters are still too high.
Successful continuation in this direction will require considerable efforts in the areas of miniaturization, innovative circuit topologies and specific signal processing chips.
Therefore, support is necessary for the small and medium enterprises which are active in this field.
This project is to develop the necessary pre-industrial know how for an advanced generation of small inverters, taking into account all experience gained up to now by the research institutes working in this area together with industry. The systematic investigation of the complete technology will develop a considerable potential for reducing the costs and improving the reliability by miniaturisation, integration and series production in both microelectronics and power electronics.
The development goals are quite different for small PV-converters than in conventional applications. A crucial factor for miniaturisation and thereby cost reduction is given by the switching frequency as, with increasing frequency the passive elements become smaller. In order to avoid increased losses, soft switching and new topologies with few semiconductors have to be applied. The main technical characteristics of advanced technology are:
- reduced passive elements by high switching frequency
- reduction of semiconductor losses by soft switching
- integrated power semiconductor and driver circuits
- integrated signal processing devices
- innovative circuit topologies combining voltage setup and AC-conversion The realisability will be shown by means of detailed simulations and laboratory circuits which allow the assessment of possible miniaturisation and the costs for further development and manufacturing. High technology key components, especially a common signal processing chip for different power circuits, will b defined and prototyped. As miniaturisation and reduced losses result in the reduction of cooling and casing, also future options, e.g. flat PV-incorporated converters will be considered.
The project will be carried out using the joint know how of ISET (Germany), ECN (Netherlands), IMEC, SOLTECH (Belgium) and NMRC (Ireland). The key scientific results will be made available and represented in workshops so that many manufacturers will be able to incorporate new solutions. This will create a solid basis for the continuous improvement of AC-converter technology and stimulate research institutes and industrial manufacturers to join forces.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering amorphous solids amorphous semiconductors
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering signal processing
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics topology
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy photovoltaic
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
34119 Kassel
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.