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Performance evaluation of a series-connected step-up/down partial power converter for battery energy storage applications
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  • Published: 16 January 2026

Performance evaluation of a series-connected step-up/down partial power converter for battery energy storage applications

  • Qian Liu1,
  • Long Jing1,
  • Wenzheng Xu1,
  • Ruidong Sun1,
  • Xuezhi Wu1,
  • Jianhua Lei2 &
  • …
  • Yongbo Zhang2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Energy science and technology
  • Engineering

Abstract

The conventional full power converter (FPC) for battery energy storage applications is limited by bulky components and suboptimal efficiency. In response, a series-connected step-up/down partial power converter (SUDPPC) with high power density is proposed in this paper. It consists of an LLC resonant converter operating at a fixed switching frequency cascaded with a full-bridge converter capable of providing bipolar output. By connecting the SUDPPC in series with the load, the voltage stress on the series side and the current stress on the parallel side are markedly reduced. The four-quadrant function provides support for further optimization of the rated power level. Universal series interconnection schemes are elaborated, and design guidelines are formulated based on power distribution characteristics. Furthermore, the topology is evaluated in terms of nonactive power and component stress factor (CSF), and benchmarked against a four-switch buck/boost FPC and a phase-shifted full-bridge step-up partial power converter (SUPPC). Finally, a 1.1 kW prototype is developed to experimentally validate the theoretical analysis, demonstrating that only 14.3% of the total active power is processed under full-load conditions, with a peak efficiency of 98.15%.

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Data availability

Research data is shared if requested to the corresponding author.

Abbreviations

V dc :

Dc bus voltage

V b :

Battery voltage

V 2 :

SP voltage

ΔV :

Bias voltage

I dc :

Dc bus voltage

I b :

Battery current

I Lm :

Magnetizing current

I Lf :

Filter inductor current

ΔI Lf :

Inductor current ripple

P p :

Processed active power

P d :

Direct infeed active power

P max :

PPC maximum power

P out :

Output active power

f s :

LLC converter resonant frequency

t d :

Dead time

f c :

FB converter switching frequency

C oss :

Output capacitance of the switches

C r :

Resonant capacitor

L r :

Resonant inductor

L m :

Magnetizing inductor

d :

FB converter equivalent duty cycle

n :

Transformer turns ratio

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Funding

This work is supported by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Plan project (The key technology research and development of MWh level battery energy storage cluster balance control system, KJZD20230923112959001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Active Distribution Network Technology Research Center, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

    Qian Liu, Long Jing, Wenzheng Xu, Ruidong Sun & Xuezhi Wu

  2. Shenzhen Poweroak Newener Company Ltd, Shenzhen, 516083, China

    Jianhua Lei & Yongbo Zhang

Authors
  1. Qian Liu
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Contributions

Q. L.: Data curation, Methodology, Software, Writing-original draft. L. J.: Writing-review & editing. W. X.: Writing-review & editing. R. S.: Writing-review & editing. X. W.: Writing-review & editing. J. L.: Writing-review & editing. Y. Z.: Writing-review & editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenzheng Xu.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Cite this article

Liu, Q., Jing, L., Xu, W. et al. Performance evaluation of a series-connected step-up/down partial power converter for battery energy storage applications. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35857-z

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  • Received: 15 July 2025

  • Accepted: 08 January 2026

  • Published: 16 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35857-z

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Keywords

  • Full power converter (FPC)
  • Battery energy storage applications
  • Step-up/down partial power converter (SUDPPC)
  • Nonactive power
  • Component stress factor (CSF)
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