A new topology of a variable output-voltage DC-DC converter for fuel cell vehicles

The aim of this paper is to present a new topology of a DC-DC power converter for conditioning the current and voltages behaviors of embarked energy sources used in electrical vehicles. The fuel cells in conjunction with ultra-capacitors have been chosen as the power supply. The originality of the proposed converter is to use a variable voltage of the DC bus of the vehicle. The goal is to allow a better energy management of the embedded sources onboard the vehicle by improving its energy efficiency. After presenting and explaining the topology of the converter some simulation and experiments results are shown to highlight its different operation modes.