Application of Clustered Multi-port Active-bridge Converters in Micro-grids

In addition to classical loads and sources, a micro-grid includes local generation and storage devices. An energy system, composed of converters is needed to connect all these objects together and facilitate energy exchange between them. Classical solutions for micro-grids with renewable energy resources, involve multiple energy conversion steps. Due to intermittent nature of renewable resources and fluctuations in consumption profiles, the converters usually work in power levels that are lower than their nominal power and with low efficiency. This paper proposes a cluster of multi-port converters in order to have smart and efficient energy exchanges in micro-grids. Using a cluster of converters, instead of a single one, proposes several advantages including higher efficiency, reliability and flexibility. Moreover, modular clusters of converters connected on different parts of a network, which do both control of the flow energy and current state data exchange, can be regarded as a well-structured hardware-level infrastructure for realization of internet of energy. A study case is simulated to better assess the efficiency gain when using a cluster of converters.