Abstract

The future electricity network has to be able to manage energy coming from different grids as well as from renewable energy sources (RES) and other distributed generation (DG) systems. Advanced power electronic converters can provide the means to control power flow and ensure proper and secure operation of future networks. This paper presents analysis, design, and experimental validation of a back-to-back three-phase ac-dc-ac multilevel converter employed for universal and flexible power management (UNIFLEX-PM) of future electrical grids and its advanced control technique. The proposed system has been successfully tested for bidirectional power flow operation with different grid operating conditions such as voltage unbalance, frequency variation, harmonic distortion, and faults due to short circuits.