High-performance 2G HTS wire for efficient and reliable electricity supply

Abstract

Second-generation (2G) high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wire, i.e., REBa2Cu3O7-δ (RE-123) coated conductor, holds enormous promise for the efficient and reliable supply of electricity. 2G HTS has been demonstrated in many real world applications such as electric power cables, fault current limiters (FCL), motors, generators, transformers and superconducting magnetic energy storage systems (SMES). SuperPower, Inc. developed an industrial-scale, high-throughput IBAD-MgO based process for textured buffer and an MOCVD process for RE-123 coating, and has successfully fabricated wires up to 1.5 kilometer in length for these applications. A number of prototype devices incorporating SuperPower's products have demonstrated excellent performance, and there is an increasing demand for 2G HTS wire. Standardizing manufacturing processes and implementing constant improvements in productivity and reduced variation, SuperPower is routinely producing high quality, long length wire to meet the current and future market demands. Meanwhile, we maintain a strong R&D focus to further the development of high performance wires, high efficiency processes and advanced conductor architectures to address future needs of 2G HTS technology. Our latest progress in those areas will be reported.