Why MgB 2 is a viable solu2on as a superconductor for power cable applica2ons. Giovanni Grasso Columbus Superconductors SpA

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1 Why MgB 2 is a viable solu2on as a superconductor for power cable applica2ons Giovanni Grasso Columbus Superconductors SpA

2 Why Superconductors Superconduc2vity is a mechanism that appears only in a limited number of materials, and that it is far from being fully a) understood, b) inves2gated and c) exploited Superconductors are able to carry large electrical currents lossless, provided that they are cooled below a given cri2cal temperature Virtually every decade a new family of superconductors is discovered, with new features and poten2al for easier and more efficient applica2on in prac2cal devices If there is a superconduc2ng material with reasonably useful proper2es for a given applica2on today, there are great chances that it will s2ll significantly improve in the following years, as the slow learning curve for their development typically requires years to reach nearly full op2miza2on

3 Superconduc0vity and cooling The necessity of cooling a superconductor to its opera2ng temperature has been always considered the biggest weakness of the superconduc2ng technology It is vital for superconductors to discover if there are posi2ve aspects that may turn cooling into an advantage Several cryogenic substances used to cool superconductors indeed show impressive dielectric proper2es, as liquid nitrogen (77K) and liquid hydrogen (20K) Liquid hydrogen has the further advantage of being poten2ally a very useful vehicle for carrying and storing cleaner energy in chemical form

4 Superconduc0vity and LH 2 A limited number of superconductors are opera2onal at LH 2 temperature, including the so- called HTS materials and MgB 2 A German study at KIT is aiming at demonstra2ng grid level energy storage through the beneficial coupling of LH 2 storage and electromagne2c storage in an MgB 2 superconduc2ng winding (SMES) Combining large energy transporta2on over very long distances using superconduc2ng cables cooled by LH 2 should represent the most efficient way to achieve such a target

5 Which superconduc0ng solu0ons are available today? MgB 2 BSCCO YBCO Wire type Round wire or tape with SS sheath Silver sheathed tape Thin film on metallic substrate with biaxial texture T c (K) 39 K 108 K 90 K Current carrying capability at 20 K Superconduc0ng splices 1000 A 1000 A 1000 A YES NO NO Low cost ( < 5 $/m) YES NO Long lengths (>5 Km) YES NO NOT YET (likely within 5 years) NOT YET (likely within 5 years)

6 Advantages of MgB 2 Easy material binary compound not requiring rare earth or other scarce elements Easy and scalable manufacturing through standard equipment already present in the generic fine wire industrial technology today Non toxic Adequately screened by stainless steel sheath, the superconduc2ng phase is protected by any possible ageing cause Only superconductor at LH 2 available in mul2 Km- length, allowing superconduc2ng splices, and produced also in round shape par2cularly advantageous for straigh]orward and compact cabling technologies

7 Columbus Superconductors Columbus has been founded in 2003 as a start- up originated from the Italian Na2onal Research Council (CNR) Columbus is currently the world technology reference on the ex- situ MgB 2 superconductor because of its proprietary method to produce it as a long, reliable, affordable wire ready for use in a variety of applica2ons (patents WO2002EP11567, WO2004IT00437) Columbus special process employs materials and technologies that are already available in industrial quan22es and commonly used in low- cost wire manufacturing The actual plant is fully opera0onal for MgB 2 wire produc2on, and is under scaling up to Km/year according to our market forecast Wire unit length today up to 4 Km in a single piece will be up to 20 Km in June 2012 Total plant area m 2 60% of it in use today, to be increased by further m 2 by June 2012 Columbus MgB 2 produc0on for MRI so far exceeded 500 Km of fully tested and qualified wires MgB 2 compound produc2on now also fully implemented Columbus plant in Genoa, ITALY

8 How do we meet the actual wire demand? Our MgB2 based conductors can be designed in a number of dras2cally different architectures according to customers specifica2ons Requirements may include: type of MgB2 powder (for low or high field) sheath materials (Nickel, Titanium, Copper, Niobium, Steel and their combina2on) shape and sec2on (round, square, rectangular, aspect ra2o) number of filaments and twist pitch type of electrical insula2on Amount of stabilizer All the wires in our por_olio are produced without degrada0on in Km- class length

9 Expansion of our wire produc0on Floor 0 Billet assembly Floor - 1 Finishing 39 macchine nuove, di cui 20 principali e 19 ausiliarie 15 macchine riu2lizzate su 21, di cui 9 da modificare 10 principali interven2 per l infrastrueura tecnica 1 nuovo capannone a 2 piani Interven2 di risanamento esterno Realizzazione dei magazzini separa2 materia prima e prodoeo finito 2.280m2 di area produgva coperta 3 repar2 a turnazione differenziata Impianto eleerico completamente rifaeo (1,2 MW) con gruppo Diesel di con2nuità Rete IT e rete gas tecnici completamente distribuite 20 unità di manodopera direea Finished products Powders produc0on Services R&D New building ready May 2012 Actual building Offices

10 39 new machines, of which 20 main and 19 auxiliaries 15 exis0ng machines will be s0ll used over 21, of which 9 need upgrades 10 main upgrades to the technical infrastructures 1 new 2 floors buildiing 2.280m 2 of covered workshop area 20 direct produc0on units Private investment in the new plant of nearly 10 M Expansion of our wire produc0on

11 Columbus technology market proof: the MRI system MR Open First commercial systems already installed and fully opera0onal in hospitals and private clinics in EU and North America Unique fully dry superconduc2ng MRI system currently on the market Based on Columbus MgB 2 technology Unique superconduc2ng open- sky MRI system currently on the market Very aerac2ve because of its features (scanning with/no load, children, no claustrophobia, very easy installa2on and running,..) More than a dozen systems produced so far Also highly suitable for remote installa0on because electricity is the only requirement to setup/start/run the system not suffering from scaeered power outages though

12 Conclusions Columbus is going through a significant scale- up to be ready and well prepared for the next phase of MgB 2 incorpora2on in a variety of devices Amid these, LH 2 cooled power cables are looking as a very promising opportunity to implement our material, contribu2ng in solving a significant problem that the community is addressing regarding sharing of the energy resources