Highly Integrated Electric Drive with Modular Reconfigurable Batteries

Dynamically reconfigurable batteries, with broad applications in electromobility and energy storage, are the product of integrating batteries in modular multilevel converters. Such a structure enables the controller to adjust the configuration of the batteries by changing the series/parallel connections between the cells. Most studies focus on feeding single loads while neglecting the auxiliary loads or even the possibility of further increasing the utilization of the available degrees of freedom and the redundant states it can provide. In this study, we propose a simple topology and control algorithm in a dual-port reconfigurable battery for electromobility applications. In the proposed system, one port supplies the main load (non-isolated, semi-controlled) with a semi-controlled dc-link voltage. Simultaneously, the second port supplies the auxiliary load with a regulated and isolated output voltage. The proposed topology enjoys the capability of operating in a wide range of voltages without using any additional active switches.