A Modified MMC Topology to Increase Number of Voltage Levels

The modular design of the Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is highly flexible and can be customized for distinct power and voltage levels. However, obtaining a more significant number of levels in the output voltage requires the use of a large number of submodules (SM) in a conventional MMC. Consequently, the primary technical challenges associated with MMCs with a high number of SMs necessitate the use of a large number of semiconductor switches and SM capacitors, as well as the measuring of SM capacitor voltages. These components add bulk to the MMC and complicate the control scheme. This article proposes a new MMC with an increased voltage level (IVL-MMC) to address this issue. The primary benefit of the IVL-MMC is that fewer SM is needed to give the identical output voltage level as a standard MMC. It has half the voltage stress across SM switches, so the cost of SM is reduced. To confirm the accuracy of the IVL-MMC simulations, they are executed within the MATLAB/SIMULINK platform, and the output data is cross-checked against various standard techniques.