Converter Design for Nuna Maximum Power Point Tracker

The world is rapidly moving towards a greener future, a mainstay of which is solar energy. Hence, maximum power point trackers, or MPPTs for short, are an indispensable component, since these devices provide one with the capability to fully maximize the achievable power from solar cells in a system. A symbol of the greener world that is evolving around us is the biannual World Solar Challenge, where state-of-the-art solar powered cars race against one another through the deserts of Australia. This thesis forms the link between these two elements: to design an MPPT optimally suited towards the requirements of the Nuna Solar Car. Commercially available MPPTs are not particularly well suited for the specific demands of such a bleeding edge race. They are mostly designed for high power or low voltage systems. The MPPT designed during this thesis is optimized for high efficiency and other requests stated by the Nuon Solar Team members. The design of the MPPT has been split into several parts. This thesis is focused on the converter within the MPPT. It presents the result of research, design exploration, simulation and testing. The results obtained with the prototype that has been built show the designs correctness and conformance to the requirements, with an efficiency of up to 98,5%.