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GHOST project partner IKERLAN presented promising results from the project at the online IEEE Vehicular Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC), 2020.
A. Avila, A. Garcia-Bediaga, I. Gandiaga, L. Mir, and A. Rujas, “GaN-based Dc-dc Power Converter for Hybrid Energy Storage System,” This paper presents a bidirectional multi-cell power converter based on GaN devices for a high-performance Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS). This system is composed of high-power and high-energy batteries, controlled by the dc-dc converter. Buck-boost configuration is selected, allowing a bidirectional power control. Different design parameters are analysed, such as different semiconductor technologies or switching frequency, in order to optimise the power converter design in terms of power losses and volume. The use of GaN semiconductors has been demonstrated as the most suitable solution in comparison to Si devices. Besides, GaN-based solution reduces the cooling requirement even operating at high-switching frequency. Therefore, the proposed dc-dc converter fits on the specified volume. Indeed, the volume of the power converter does not have an excessive impact on overall volume of the HESS. Moreover, high-efficiency is demonstrated over the wide output load.
