Multi-Level DC/DC Converter for E-Mobility Charging Stations

There is a growing interest in electric-powered transportation because of problems such as depletion of fossil fuel resources and environmental issues caused by internal combustion engines. The market for various kinds of small E-mobility devices (EMDs), such as electric vehicles (EVs), E-bikes, Segways, and mini-boards has been growing rapidly. Of these, the distribution of the small electric vehicles called personal mobility devices (PMDs), which can address problems such as traffic issues and environmental pollution, is expected to gain momentum. However, unlike the widely used charging stations for EVs, charging systems for PMDs are insufficient. The large size of dedicated PMD charging adapters makes them inconvenient to transport. Therefore, to make PMDs more attractive, it is necessary to deploy charging stations that can charge all types of PMDs. The present study proposes a new charging system that can respond to the needs of PMDs having various voltages and implement low charging current ripple. The proposed multi-level charging system can share power by subdividing the power supply to handle the charging requirements of various PMDs. In order to verify the validity of the proposed charging system, we performed simulations and conducted experiments by building a prototype charging system.