The paper presents the operation, analysis and optimum design of an auxiliary voltage-commutated inverter that has little or no trapped energy. The operation of this inverter is described and its salient features are discussed in relation to the complementary voltage-commutated (i.e. McMurray-Bedford) inverter, which is the basic voltage-commutation circuit. The trapped energy in this commutation circuit is studied and is shown to be less than that of the McMurray-Bedford circuit. Analytical expressions are derived for optimizing the operating parameters. The advantages of this inverter in pulse-width-modulated (PWM) inverter applications are examined. A prototype unit of this inverter has been built and tested, and experimental results are presented.