High step-up DC–DC voltage converters are widely employed in uninterruptible power supplies and photovoltaic systems. The voltage levels of batteries and photovoltaic panels are, usually, low when compared with the grid-connected inverter requirements. The employment of several PV panels or batteries associated in series, directly connected to the inverter, simplifies the system but at the expense of the cost increase and of a smaller solar lighting efficiency/utilization. Several high step-up DC–DC voltage conversions are presented in the technical literature and include the basic boost converter and its derivations such as cascade, quadratic and interleaved, and voltage multipliers based on Cockcroft–Walton, switched capacitors and hybrid converters. This work presents a hybrid converter based on the boost and the switched-capacitor voltage multiplier. Its features are a low energy processing, robustness and balanced cell voltages. Comparative analysis involving the proposal and existent solutions is carried out. The research is supported by simulation essays carried out with PSpice software and preliminary experimental verification.
