ETHICAL: A modular supercapacitor-based power amplifier for high-current arbitrary generation

ETHICAL (Efficient Time to High-I Converter with Affordable Load) project aims to develop modular systems based on supercapacitors able to “amplify” at their output the power and the current adsorbed at their input. The project is named after the principle to take into account the social, environmental and economic impacts of the power supplies. Using the ETHICAL approach, high currents and high powers with arbitrary waveforms can be obtained from low voltage and low power sources, even in places without invasive structures and high or medium voltage grids. The input power features also a good quality, as the reactive power and harmonic content are negligible. The design of a prototype rated 120 V and 2 kA is presented, but these values can be increased by parallel connection or by part replacing. The extreme modularity and flexibility improve the general reliability and simplify the maintenance, fault detection and replacement activities. Therefore, the ETHICAL approach could be introduced in many fields of engineering.