Vehicle-integrated photovoltaics in battery electric vehicles: DC–DC converter design and energy harvesting performance for main high-voltage battery integration
Energy, cilt.361, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 361
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.energy.2026.141978
- Dergi Adı: Energy
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Applied Science & Technology Source, Compendex, Environment Index, Geobase, INSPEC, Public Affairs Index, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Battery electric vehicles (BEV), Drive cycle, Efficiency, Energy harvesting, LLC DC-DC converter, Photovoltaic (PV) panel, resonant tank, Soft-switching, Vehicle integrated photovoltaic (VIPV)
- Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Vehicle-integrated photovoltaic systems are gaining increasing attention as a promising approach to enhance the energy autonomy of battery electric vehicles while mitigating their driving-range limitations and dependence on frequent fast charging. Despite these advantages, a key challenge in solar-assisted electric vehicle system design lies in effectively integrating photovoltaic sources with electrical architectures, which vary widely across manufacturers and models and typically operate at voltage levels of 400–800 V. Therefore, this paper investigates the modeling, design, and implementation of an LLC resonant DC–DC power conversion system specifically developed to interface the solar energy output with the vehicle electrical system employing various voltage architectures. The LLC resonant tank is optimized to minimize system losses across a wide battery electric vehicle operating range, while frequency-modulated control is employed to achieve full soft switching, enabling high-efficiency operation and reduced thermal management requirements. In this regard, a loss-minimization-based LLC design methodology is introduced. Steady-state experimental results obtained from a 540 W hardware prototype validate the proposed modeling framework and design approach. Furthermore, various photovoltaic panel integration strategies, including roof, hood, and trunk placements, are investigated to maximize energy harvesting. To provide a realistic and representative case study, a daily usage scenario incorporating driving cycles based on the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle is simulated. The results demonstrate that full utilization of the available upper vehicle surface for solar energy integration can yield up to 6 kWh of energy per day.