Nexans Complete Testing of Superconductor Technologies' 2G HTS Wire Samples

Superconductivity is a characteristic of some materials that exhibit no electrical resistance below certain cryogenic temperatures, and High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) materials exhibit superconducting properties at temperatures as high as 90K. Superconductor Technologies (News - Alert) (STI) is a developer and producer of these HTS materials and associated technologies.

The company’s newly developed Second Generation (2G) HTS wire can carry more than one hundred times the current of an equivalent size of copper wire, and has zero resistance to direct current electricity. This can significantly reduce cost, size and weight for motors, generators and power cables.

Now Nexans, a European power cable provider, has tested and certified that STI’s new 2G HTS wires meet the standards demanded by its HTS AC power cable applications by carrying greater than 500 Amps per centimeter width at 77 Kelvin.

“Nexans’ independent wire performance verification represents an important milestone for our 2G HTS wire initiative,” said Jeff Quiram, STI’s president and CEO. “We believe that the success of these initial tests is another indication that our wire technology development is on track to meet the demanding needs of future transmission cable projects. Nexans possesses over a decade of superconducting cable experience and has implemented numerous HTS cable installations. We are eager to continue our work with Nexans to meet its requirements for high-performance 2G HTS wire.”

Notable benefits of STI’s HTS wires include smaller substation footprint requirements; higher power throughput; no need to retrofit existing duct banks; and the ability to realize high load connections between distribution and reception.

STI  is reportedly applying its unique deposition techniques and manufacturing experience to the development of cost effective, high performance 2G HTS wire for applications ranging from AC Power Cables to Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SFCL) and HTS Wind Turbine Generators.