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Superconductivity: Present and Future Applications
Superconductor magnets are essential to this application because of their
dramatically lighter weight and lower power requirements. At present, maglev
train lines operating in Japan, Germany and China make use of low temperature
superconductor (LTS) technology. However, there is now research underway on the
application of HTS coils to maglev trains, which could result in lower cooling costs
and higher stability.
Other HTS Applications and Ramifications
Other transportation systems could, in time, be powered by systems using
superconductor wire. The focus of these innovations however, is on large, bulk
transport systems rather than individual passenger automobiles, which are used
intermittently. The wider adoption of plug-in hybrid automobiles would result in
increased total demand on the interconnected power grid and it is often noted
that plug-in hybrid cars could provide a load-leveling function and lead to lower
rates and more efficient grid asset utilization. If this concept becomes very
commonplace, it will necessarily lead to an increase in total demand on the power
grid, requiring upgrades to the general grid infrastructure. In certain locations,
especially dense urban areas, this could necessitate the use of superconductorbased
technologies in order to ensure the safe, reliable delivery of large amounts
of power into dense urban areas.
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The Foundation: Advances in HTS Wire
The basis for the performance advantages of these transportation technologies
lies in high-performance superconductor wire. Electric shipboard motors
employing superconductor wire can generate very powerful fields in a small
fraction of the volume and weight of copper-wound motors. Otherwise, they make
use of conventional, well-understood designs, employing the same century’s
worth of developments and refinements that apply to all AC synchronous electric
motors. Maglev trains, likewise, make use of ultracompact, high-field coils that
would be physically impossible to construct, absent the miraculous property of
superconductivity.
With worldwide supplies of oil under increasing pressure, there is an
urgent need to develop alternative solutions to ensure that economical means
exist to move people and goods in the world of tomorrow. The phenomenon of
superconductivity, which has found uses in applications ranging from research and
medicine to electric power, could play a critical role in ensuring that these pressing
needs can be met.
© 2009 CCAS : Coalition for the Commercial Application of Superconductors