Compact and efficient transformerless power conversion system

A power conversion system comprising:

• an energy storage circuit including a plurality of capacitors forming multiple stages, wherein each of said multiple stages includes one or more of said plurality of capacitors;
• a charging circuit connected to said energy storage circuit, said charging circuit during a charging phase charging said plurality of capacitors from a voltage source to a predetermined voltage;
• a voltage inverting circuit connected to said energy storage circuit and which during an inverting phase inverts the polarity of the voltage across selected capacitors of said plurality of capacitors;
• and
• a discharging circuit connected to said energy storage circuit, said discharging circuit during a discharging phase extracting power from said plurality of connected capacitors at a transformed voltage,
• wherein said energy storage circuit further comprises an interstage coupling circuit that provides interconnections interconnecting said plurality of stages and wherein during the charging phase said interstage coupling circuit assumes one of two modes and during said discharging phase said interstage coupling assumes the other of said two modes, said two modes being a first mode and a second mode, in said first mode said interconnections having low impedance and in said second mode said interconnections having high impedance.