What had to be solved
The task was to verify the architecture of a charging and energy-management system that reduces peak grid load and controls power flow between several sources and consumers.
Projects / Power electronics and energy conversion
Multiport energy hub power system
TRL 5 multiport Energy Hub prototype: grid interface, storage, solar input and EV charging ports connected by power modules and energy-flow control.
What the project reached
The architecture was brought to a working TRL 5 laboratory prototype. The main power nodes and control logic were tested on the bench.
Project materials
Photos and working materials
Public materials
Engineering context
Important constraints
The system supports bidirectional interaction with the grid and internal storage.
The central power stage is an isolated multiport Multiple Active Bridge DC/DC converter.
Energy-flow control is needed between the grid, battery, solar input and EV charging ports.
Testing had to cover the power stage, embedded software and PC interface on the bench.
The prototype is a power-electronics system, not only a charger controller.
Work done
What was included
Two bidirectional grid inverters in the 50 kW class.
Multiport Multiple Active Bridge converter.
5 kWh battery system and rack-level integration.
Embedded control on TI C2000 F2837xD.
Local interface and PC GUI for telemetry and parameter setup.
Power-flow algorithms, protective limits and soft startup behavior.
Bench testing of the main power nodes and control software.
Details
Engineering project description
Energy-node architecture
Energy Hub connects the grid, internal battery storage, solar panels and EV charging ports. The goal is not only to charge vehicles, but also to accumulate energy in advance, redistribute it between ports and reduce peak load on the infrastructure.
- grid-to-vehicle charging
- charging from internal storage
- use of solar-panel energy
- charging of the internal battery
- V2G and V2V scenarios through a shared energy bus
Power stage
The project includes two bidirectional grid inverters in the 50 kW class and an isolated multiport Multiple Active Bridge DC/DC converter. The inverters were successfully tested up to 25 kW, and the MAB converter was tested up to 20 kW.
The internal 5 kWh battery system acts as a power buffer and allows part of the grid consumption to be shifted in time.
Control and interfaces
The control architecture is built on the TI C2000 F2837xD platform, with fast power-control loops and service logic separated between CPU1 and CPU2. The system supports SCI, Modbus RTU, local interface functions, telemetry, parameter setup and a PyQt6 PC interface.
Algorithms and operating modes
The project implements bidirectional inverter control, power-flow control through the MAB converter, protective limitations and soft transition into operating mode. A separate part of the work is related to MAB control based on real-imaginary decomposition.
Current stage
The key architecture is assembled, the main power nodes have been developed and tested, and the control logic is implemented. Natural next stages are field testing, work with a real electric vehicle, outdoor implementation and further TRL increase.
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