Progress of High Power Multilevel Converters: Combining Silicon and Silicon Carbide

Inhalt:
At present, Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) are applied mainly for HVDC and are developed for future HVDC-Grids and Large Drives. While Half- Bridge submodules were preferred – because of lower losses and expenses – fully electronic fault management and protection will become a key requirement for future systems. A new submodule topology for MMC is presented, combining Si- and SiC-Switches, which meets these requirements and enables essentially reduced power losses.