"The issue of high efficiency has to be dealt with appropriate converter design; more specifically, the research team will study and develop the following solutions: (i) AC/DC conversion will be implemented by the use of parallel converters. These converters will be hierarchically controlled, depending on the recovered energy amount. So each time the number of “active” converters will be the one that matches electrical power generation. This way the converters will always operate close to their nominal power, where they perform maximum efficiency, maximizing also the whole AC/DC conversion efficiency under any point of operation. Moreover this is a modular design approach, which enables the implementation of different power levels. The exact power level for each converter module and its dynamic behavior will be determined during simulation and evaluation process.(ii)AC/DC modules shall have unity power factor and low THD (less than 5%) at the generator side (PFC converters); this way, synchronous generator is not charged with reactive power and electromagnetic compatibility issues are eliminated. ECRG-UP has significant experience in the development of high-efficiency PFC converter topologies and control techniques, based on PWM DC/DC topologies, as well as by the development of a 2kW PFC on board charger for electric vehicles. The selection of the PFC converter topology initially depends on the output rms voltage value of the PM generator. More specifically, if the peak AC voltage is always lower than DC bus voltage (270V) then boost type topologies can be considered; otherwise step down configurations have to be adopted. Generally, boost type topologies are considered to be more suitable for PFC applications in the range of 1 – 10kW, due to continuous input current shape that they produce Moreover the production of low AC voltage (100Vrms – 160Vrms) by the PM generator eases human security against electric shock."