Project Title: Ultra-Compact High Efficiency Multi-Level GaN-Based PV Inverter
Funding Opportunity: Technology to Market 3
Solar Subprogram: Technology to Market
Location: Urbana, IL
Amount Awarded: $1,153,464
Awardee Cost Share: $232,225
This project is developing a hardware prototype of a scalable 60-100 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic inverter. The prototype will comprise of several kW sub-modules that enable various power levels to be implemented using a common framework. At the conclusion of the project, a fully tested, commercially relevant, laboratory-made prototype will be demonstrated with high volume manufacturing costs below $0.06 per kilowatt-hour.
Approach
The research team will leverage advances in high-performance gallium nitride (GaN) transistor technology to enable cost-effective and reliable hardware implementations of an ultra-compact and high-efficiency multilevel converter architecture originally developed at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. Building on expertise in multi-level power converter topologies, GaN-based power module design and integration, thermal management, and advanced digital control, this project will enable dramatic size and weight reduction of high power PV inverters, while realizing efficiency gains at a lower cost compared to the state-of-the-art silicon solutions.
Innovation
This project builds on innovative university research that combines advanced digital control techniques, state-of-the-art thermal and electrical packaging, and new semiconductor devices to push the frontier of efficiency and power density of power electronics. Through hardware-in-the-loop emulation, advanced grid support features will be rapidly developed and tested on this new power electronics architecture. The proposed architecture enables aggressive size reductions compared to state-of-the-art PV inverters, yielding significant cost savings through lower-cost electrical and mechanical components and enclosures, as well as reduced electro-magnetic interference.