Bidirectional converter with preferential direction and reactive power-capable inverter having said converter

A half-bridge of a bidirectional converter is divided into a first and a second conduction path connected in parallel. In each of the conduction paths a switching element and a freewheeling diode are connected in series, and the center points of the conduction paths are connected via a second inductor. The second inductor is connected in series with a first inductor which is connected to the center point of the second conduction path. The half-bridge has two operating modes. In each of the two operating modes the switching element in one of the two conduction paths is clocked at a high frequency to cause a flow of energy in one of two directions between a pair of high voltage-side connections and a pair of low voltage-side connections to the half-bridge. The two switching elements are of different types, the switching element in the first conduction path causing higher switching losses.