Multi-Functional Converter with Integrated Motor Control, Battery Charging and Active Module Balancing for Electric Vehicular Application

In order to reduce the fuel consumption and the acoustical noise generated by refuse lorries, electrification of the waste compactor unit is a very promising solution. For the electrical energy storage Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery technology has been selected with potential for reducing the cost, weight and volume in comparison with other Li-Ion based chemistries. The control of the energy flow has been done through a Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC), which has demonstrated advantages over 2 level converters in terms of efficiency, fault tolerant operation, flexible operation modes. It has been used successfully in HVDC/FACTS and large drive applications. In this paper the use of MMC for a battery driven waste compactor unit addressed with integrated functionality including: motor driver, battery charge and active balancing is presented. The challenges addressed here are related to the design of control strategy and current ripple reduction through the battery for life time extension.