VOLTAGE BALANCING CIRCUIT FOR SERIES CONNECTED CAPACITOR BANKS OR VOLTAGE CELLS AND VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE FOR DRIVING AN ELECTRIC MOTOR OR POWER CONVERTER FOR SUPPLYING A LOAD WITH A VOLTAGE BALANCING CIRCUIT

A voltage balancing circuit for capacitor banks or voltage cells connected in series. The circuit includes a DC-link with at least two capacitors or voltage cells connected in series and at least two emitter follower balancing circuits connected in parallel. At least one emitter resistor is provided between the emitter of each emitter follower balancing circuit and the mid-point of the DC-link. The gate emitter voltage applied to each emitter follower balancing circuit may be equal to its common gate voltage minus the voltage drop on the corresponding emitter resistor. The invention is also directed at a variable frequency drive for driving an electric motor or a power converter, having a corresponding voltage balancing circuit.