Multistage Power Amplification Storage Systems for Dedicated Photovoltaic Applications and Harvesting

The paper discusses the principle of power amplification, as it can be found in many systems powered by PV panels and buffered by batteries. Under different categories of application examples, one is given by compacting containers for plastic or other waste materials. The main goal of such systems is to supply high-power intermittent systems from low power sources. The studied example discusses an energy harvesting system using a low power solar PV collection system dedicated to energize a specific application, sequentially operated at high power. The transformation of the power level is achieved using intermediary storage, where the charging sequence is characterized by a very low power level for longer time, followed by a shorter discharge sequence of the storage means with a much higher instantaneous power. The performance of the PV harvesting system is discussed from the point of view of its energy efficiency. Several solutions are discussed, and finally, a new 2-stage harvesting system is introduced. The requirement of a multistage amplification system is related to the power amplification ratio itself. The design method for the system relies on the concept of the so-called “Modified Ragone Representation”, MRR, that is shortly introduced in the paper. A prototype realization of the two-stage system is also presented.