TY - JOUR
T1 - Recent advances of step-up multi-stage DC-DC converters
T2 - A review on classifications, structures and grid applications
AU - Abolghasemi, Mahdi
AU - Soltani, Iman
AU - Shivaie, Mojtaba
AU - Vahedi, Hani
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - In the contemporary landscape of trend industries including sustainable energy sources, high-voltage direct current, and electrified mobility, the need for power conversion units to bridge disparate sections is felt more than ever before. Among these conversion units, the step-up DC-DC converters occupy a pivotal role, elevating the DC voltage levels and facilitating interactions between converters and circuits. However, the multistage DC-DC converters, prevalent in large-scale industries, offer higher voltage gains and power density. This review paper has categorized the multistage DC-DC converters into isolated/non-isolated, voltage-fed/current-fed, unidirectional/bidirectional, hard-switched/soft-switched, and step-up/step-down configurations. It has been followed by a brief review of various voltage boosting techniques, containing an analysis of multi-staging voltage boosting methods and recent advances in converter structures. Then, the multistage DC-DC converters have been classified into several distinct categories: quadratic gain, cascaded, interleaved, modular, multilevel, and hybrid structures. Recent advancements and developments in each of these categories have been meticulously examined, with a focus on their fundamental concepts, advantages, and disadvantages. In particular, the voltage gains, voltage stresses, and current stresses associated with quadratic gain and cascaded DC-DC converters have been analyzed and compared in detail. Furthermore, an in-depth exploration of the structures and configurations of interleaved, modular, and multilevel DC-DC converters has been conducted. This includes a discussion on the combinations of modules, the benefits arising from these integrations, and insights for future developments. The applications of each category of multistage DC-DC converters across various industries—particularly in grid applications—have been thoroughly analyzed. Subsequently, these converters have been evaluated based on several criteria: reliability, component count, control complexity, voltage gain, power level, cost, and weight. The prioritization of these factors has also been systematically presented.
AB - In the contemporary landscape of trend industries including sustainable energy sources, high-voltage direct current, and electrified mobility, the need for power conversion units to bridge disparate sections is felt more than ever before. Among these conversion units, the step-up DC-DC converters occupy a pivotal role, elevating the DC voltage levels and facilitating interactions between converters and circuits. However, the multistage DC-DC converters, prevalent in large-scale industries, offer higher voltage gains and power density. This review paper has categorized the multistage DC-DC converters into isolated/non-isolated, voltage-fed/current-fed, unidirectional/bidirectional, hard-switched/soft-switched, and step-up/step-down configurations. It has been followed by a brief review of various voltage boosting techniques, containing an analysis of multi-staging voltage boosting methods and recent advances in converter structures. Then, the multistage DC-DC converters have been classified into several distinct categories: quadratic gain, cascaded, interleaved, modular, multilevel, and hybrid structures. Recent advancements and developments in each of these categories have been meticulously examined, with a focus on their fundamental concepts, advantages, and disadvantages. In particular, the voltage gains, voltage stresses, and current stresses associated with quadratic gain and cascaded DC-DC converters have been analyzed and compared in detail. Furthermore, an in-depth exploration of the structures and configurations of interleaved, modular, and multilevel DC-DC converters has been conducted. This includes a discussion on the combinations of modules, the benefits arising from these integrations, and insights for future developments. The applications of each category of multistage DC-DC converters across various industries—particularly in grid applications—have been thoroughly analyzed. Subsequently, these converters have been evaluated based on several criteria: reliability, component count, control complexity, voltage gain, power level, cost, and weight. The prioritization of these factors has also been systematically presented.
KW - Converter structures
KW - Grid applications
KW - High voltage gain
KW - Multistage DC-DC converters
KW - Power conversion units
KW - Voltage boosting techniques
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85219439531&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.egyr.2025.02.025
DO - 10.1016/j.egyr.2025.02.025
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85219439531
SN - 2352-4847
VL - 13
SP - 3050
EP - 3081
JO - Energy Reports
JF - Energy Reports
ER -