Multi-port power converter for solar, battery, and grid
This technology is a new type of power converter — the electronic building block that controls and transforms electrical energy between different voltage levels and current types. It uses a specific arrangement of switching components organized into two interconnected 'strings' within each leg of the converter, allowing it to manage power flow across multiple electrical buses simultaneously. The design enables more flexible and efficient conversion, particularly in systems that need to handle multiple power sources or loads at once. A controller coordinates the switching to maintain stable, optimized operation.
What you could build
A compact multi-port power converter module for energy storage systems, EV charging infrastructure, or renewable energy inverters that must interface solar, battery, and grid simultaneously; target buyers would be power electronics OEMs and grid-edge equipment manufacturers.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense contractors, data center power infrastructure firms, or naval shipboard power systems developers (e.g., Newport News Shipbuilding ecosystem) could find multi-bus converter architectures relevant.
Readiness: Concept
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Zhi ZHOU, Jian LIU, Jayesh Kumar MOTWANI, Dong DONG, Rolando BURGOS
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed February 10, 2023
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20240275286A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.