A Modular and Reconfigurable Offboard Battery Charger using Model Predictive Control with Inherent Smooth Mode Transition Capability

This article proposes a modular and reconfigurable offboard charger with enhanced performance over a wide output voltage range for charging existing and next-generation electric vehicles (EVs). The proposed charger utilizes power electronic building blocks (PEBBs), which are configured in either star or delta configurations based on battery voltage to optimize performance across diverse output voltage ranges. Each PEBB features a bridgeless wide-voltage range front-end converter (FEC) followed by an isolated dc-dc converter. A distributed control architecture, implemented through finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC), facilitates the inherent smooth mode transitions and maintains consistent performance across modules. The efficacy of the proposed charger and its FCS-MPC controller is validated through comprehensive simulations of a 150 kW model in MATLAB/Simulink, experimental studies on a 3.3 kW PEBB laboratory prototype, and real-time studies on a 150 kW charger. These assessments demonstrate the charger’s capability to accommodate a wide output voltage range (120–900 V) for charging diverse EVs with enhanced flexibility, scalability, and efficiency. Finally, a comparative analysis underscores the superiority of the proposed charger over existing modular chargers.