A Novel Nonisolated Three-Port DC–DC Converter for Solar PV Integrated E-Boat Applications

This article proposes a novel Boost-SEPIC-based three-port converter (TPC). The converter is developed for a standalone dc microgrid with roof-top solar PV panels in an electric boat (E-boat). The proposed converter is compact and requires a minimum number of components compared to the existing TPCs. It eliminates the need for three different dc–dc converters to charge, discharge the battery, and supply power to the load. A simple control is designed to effectively manage the energy extracted from PV by storing it in a battery and delivering continuous power to the load. The proposed TPC has other advantages, such as complete control over load voltage and low current ripples during the transient period. It can swiftly change among different modes of operation by detecting the load variations, Battery SOC, and PV availability, thereby ensuring continuous power flow towards the load. A front-end boost converter is used for maximum power point tracking. A single control is designed for the entire system to operate in a closed loop. The topology is designed and analyzed using Matlab-SIMULINK environment and validated on a laboratory prototype developed. Continuous power flow to the load in different modes of operation has been presented.

I. Introduction

Global consumption and utilization of fossil fuels is increasing, especially in the transportation sector. This has resulted in severe environmental consequences, such as greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and air pollution. As a result, renewable technologies such as photovoltaic (PV), wind energy systems, and fuel cell systems have begun to gain widespread attention as sustainable and clean energy sources [1], [2], [3].