Microchip’s Innovative Solutions Drive the Future of Energy Transition

Microchip is committed to developing products and technologies that drive positive change in the world, while enhancing the human experience. This year, we showcased some of our latest sustainability solutions at Enlit Europe 2024 in Milan, Italy. Enlit brings together energy experts and the tech community to propel advancements in energy-efficient systems, transforming the future of the energy industry.

We empower our customers’ efforts to design sustainable applications. To showcase these efforts, Microchip built a sustainability wall with demos of our reference solutions for an electricity meter, solar microinverter, energy storage, heat pump and Electric Vehicle (EV) charger.

Figure 1, Microchip’s Sustainability Wall

Let’s explore each reference solution in more detail.

Electricity Meter with PIC32CXMTC System-on-Chip (SoC)

Electricity meters are essential for accurately measuring energy consumption, helping users and utilities monitor and manage power usage. They promote energy efficiency, support billing transparency and enable smart technology integration for a more responsive power grid.

Our Polyphase Smart Metering Demonstration Board highlights the advanced features of the PIC32CXMTC SoC solution for residential, commercial and industrial smart meter applications. The PIC32CXMTC series is our next-generation smart metering platform built around two high-performance 32-bit Arm^® Cortex^®-M4F processors. This dual-core architecture integrates the application and metrology functions in a single device.

The demonstration board includes a polyphase energy metering analog front-end with three voltage and four current sense channels. Current channels are designed to interface with Current Transformers (CTs), Rogowski coils and shunt current sensors. Radio and PLC communication capabilities based on industry-leading communications protocols like G3-PLC, PRIME and IEEE^® 802.15.4g are possible by means of plugged-in modules at the available expansion ports.

Figure 2, Microchip’s Polyphase Smart Metering Demonstration Board

Solar Microinverter with dsPIC® Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs)

Microinverters are small devices that are mounted on individual solar panels. They convert DC power to AC power from each panel to deliver power that measures in the hundreds of watts for a single panel. This configuration boosts system efficiency, minimizes the effects of shading or panel issues and enables more flexible solar array designs.

Microchip’s Grid-Connected Solar Microinverter Reference Design demonstrates the flexibility and power of SMPS dsPIC^® DSCs in Grid-Connected Solar Microinverter systems. This reference design has a maximum output power of 215 Watts and ensures maximum power point tracking for PV panel voltages between 20V to 45V DC. High efficiency was achieved by implementing a novel interleaved active-clamp flyback topology with Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS).

This reference design is implemented using a single dsPIC33F GS digital-power DSC from Microchip that provides the full digital control of the power conversion as well as all system management functions. As shown in this reference design, the dsPIC33F GS devices enable designers to easily and cost-effectively develop products using advanced switching techniques/topologies that lower switching losses and improve overall system efficiency.

Figure 3, Microchip’s Solar Microinverter with dsPIC DSCs

Energy Storage System with Silicon Carbide (SiC) based E-Fuse Technology Demonstrator

A battery Energy Storage System (ESS) harvests energy from renewable or other energy sources and stores it within the battery storage units. The batteries discharge power when needed, especially during power outages or grid balancing.  We support the hardware and software to develop a high-power, intelligent ESS. Our portfolio of mSiC discretes, modules and gate drivers, in combination with our system monitoring and intelligent microcontrollers (MCUs), allows for the development of efficient, compact AC/DC and DC/DC design blocks.

High-voltage SiC auxiliary E-Fuse is a technology demonstrator for various applications like energy storage systems, wind, data centers and EVs. E-Fuse circuit protection can detect and interrupt fault currents 100 to 500 times faster than traditional circuit breaker approaches and is a more reliable solution. This cutting-edge solution utilizes our 700V and 1200V mSiC products, offering a comprehensive and efficient design. The integrated Time-Current Characteristic (TCC) curve facilitates seamless migration from traditional circuit protection methods to a solid-state protection.

Figure 4, Microchip’s Energy Storage Demo with SiC-based E-Fuse Technology Demonstrator

Heat Pump with 11 kW Totem-Pole Demonstration Application

Heat pumps are highly efficient systems that transfer heat instead of generating it, reducing energy consumption and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. By using renewable energy sources, they support sustainable heating and cooling solutions and help decrease reliance on fossil fuels.

This demonstration platform features our mSiC MOSFETs and dsPIC DSCs. The demonstration platform also includes our 8-bit microcontroller, gate drivers, buck regulator, Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) controller, push-pull PWM controller, CAN FD transceiver and LDO. The highly modular and configurable hardware with Plug-in-Modules (PIMs) and flexible software support different modes of operation, including:

• Three-phase Power Factor Correction (PFC)
• One-phase PFC (single and multiple legs)
• Three-phase inverter
• One-phase inverter

The different modes of operation above can be configured with the help of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). This highly flexible totem-pole solution can also be used as part of an On-Board Charger (OBC) or off board system for an EV charger.

Figure 5, Heat Pump

EV Charger: Single-Phase AC Residential EV Charger

The reliability and performance of EV chargers are critical to drive global market adoption. EV manufacturers are focused on delivering the most robust, weather-resistant and user-friendly EV chargers. We offer three flexible and scalable EV Charger Reference Designs including a Single-Phase AC Residential, a Three-Phase AC Commercial with Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) and SoC and a Three-Phase AC Commercial with OCPP and Display.

The Single-Phase AC Residential EV Charger Reference Design offers a cost-effective and convenient solution for home charging, where a single-phase supply is used. The on-board high-performance energy metering device with automatic calibration simplifies the production process. The design has integrated safety protection features including Protective Earth Neutral (PEN) fault detection and Residual Current Device (RCD) detection.

Figure 6, Single-Phase AC Residential EV Charger

Microchip’s Dedicated Sustainability Megatrend Team

Microchip's Sustainability Megatrend team prioritizes and develops new technologies aimed at promoting sustainability, with a focus on energy efficiency, waste reduction and resource conservation. Examples include technologies from this blog and others that enable remote monitoring, optimize energy and water use and create smarter grids.

To learn more, visit our Sustainability Solutions web page.