Comparison of 3 self-starting step-up DC:DC converter topologies for harvesting energy from low-voltage and low-power microbial fuel cells

Nicolas Degrenne (1) , Bruno Allard (1) , François Buret (1) , Florent Morel (1) , Salah-Eddine Adami (1) , Denis Labrousse (1)

1 AMPERE - Ampère

This paper describes and evaluates 3 original step-up converter architectures able to harvest energy from low-voltage and low-power generators. Design and sizing are made according to specifications issued from the stringent characteristics of microbial fuel cells. The maximum harvested power is 10mW under input voltage Vin=0.3V (33mA input current). The considered converters include self-oscillating circuits for autonomous operation. The 2 first topologies are respectively adapted from boost and flyback topologies. The 3rd topology uses a Greinacher voltage-lift circuit. Energy is transferred to the load both directly (forward transfer) and indirectly (flyback transfer). PSPICE simulations enable evaluation and comparison of the 3 topologies in term of efficiency, robustness, step-up ratio, control and cost. Best efficiency of 80.6% is achieved by the boost-derived circuit which also enables a feedback action to harvest energy at maximum power point.

Keywords: resonant converter; switched-mode power supply; alternative energy; Fuel cell system

Domains: Electric power

Nicolas Degrenne, Bruno Allard, François Buret, Florent Morel, Salah-Eddine Adami, et al.. Comparison of 3 self-starting step-up DC:DC converter topologies for harvesting energy from low-voltage and low-power microbial fuel cells. EPE, Aug 2011, Birmingham, United Kingdom. pp.CD. ⟨hal-00638259⟩