Ideal Power Converters has announced the 30kW 3-Port Hybrid Converter. According to the company, it can reduce the costs and improve the efficiency of systems that integrate photovoltaic (PV), grid-storage, and electric vehicle (EV) charging.
The 3-Port Hybrid Converter includes three bi-directional ports, one AC grid port and two independent DC ports — either of which can be used for PV, battery storage, or EVs. The system is designed to allow power to flow in any mix among any ports with 96.5 per cent estimated CEC efficiency. IPC’s 30kW 3-Port Hybrid Converter weighs about 125lbs and provides a power density (Watt/lbs) which the Company believes is ten times higher than other hybrid power converters and is expected to reduce manufacturing, shipping, installation and maintenance costs.
The initial hardware development of the 3-Port Hybrid Converter was completed in less than six months under an SBIR Phase I award from the Solar Energy Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Additional software development and industry certification will be required before the grid-tied product is expected to be available in late 2013.
“Hybrid power conversion systems are needed to turn intermittent PV power into reliable power for mitigating peak loads, providing backup power and for off-grid applications,” said Paul Bundschuh, chief executive officer of IPC. “Existing hybrid converters require multiple power converter stages, adding to costs and efficiency losses. IPC’s 3-Port Hybrid Converter is expected to reduce weight and logistic costs by up to 90 percent, as well as PV-to-grid efficiency losses by up to 50 percent.”
