Opens in a new window

Commissioning of the prototype of an DC/DC converter

© Fraunhofer ISE

As part of the research project “EDGE”, aiming to increase the overall efficiency of self-consumption systems, a new solution approach for home storage systems will be developed that will stand out for its increased energy efficiency of the power electronics conversion in the partial load area. The results will then be taken into account for the construction of a demonstrator. In addition to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), MSB Elektronik und Gerätebau GmbH, Aalen University and VARTA Storage GmbH are also involved.

The project started with the development and implementation of solutions to optimise the efficiency of the systems. For this purpose, the project partners, building on the analysis and evaluation of standard self-consumption systems on the market with typical consumption profiles in the private sector, are developing an efficiency level definition for storage systems, based on typical household load profiles. The potentials for efficiency increase will be identified and exploited in the newly developed system.

The new efficient storage solution will also include improvements to hardware and software. For example, Fraunhofer ISE and Aalen University are responsible for the use of new semiconductor materials, topologies or modulation types; equally, the operating management algorithms and the standby management will be optimised with the aim of increasing efficiency. Finally, a test on demonstrators will indicate whether a self-consumption system that is specifically adapted to the load profile of a single family home in this way can do better than the standard products currently available on the market when it comes to overall energy efficiency.

The joint project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), began in January 2018, and will run until June 2020.