A Low-Cost Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Power Conditioner for Residential Utility Available to Purchase

We describe a low-cost power-electronics system (PES) for a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power system which achieves an efficiency η > 93%. The PES comprises of a DC/DC boost converter followed by a soft-switched multi-level high-frequency (HF) inverter and an AC/AC converter. The DC/DC converter comprises zero-ripple boost inductor, which reduces the switching current ripple of the SOFC-stack output current, thereby, possibly improving the durability of the SOFC. Additionally, the design of the inductor yields higher power at a reduced cost. Finally, preliminary experimental results and efficiency estimates for individual subsystems of the PES are demonstrated.