Experimental Superconducting Power Cable Successfully Run 180 Days

The superconducting power cable in the city of Essen in Germany lasted 180 days without interruption. An experiment called AmpaCity was completed on October 27, and engineers are now processing the data. Since April 30, a kilometer-long three-phase coaxial superconducting cable has transferred five times more energy than ordinary copper (about 20 million kW / h), with virtually no loss.

In an interview with phys.org, Matthias Nohe , head of the Department of Technical Physics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who is one of the organizers of the project, said: “The AmpaCity project shows how theoretical research gets practical application. Research helps solve social problems, such as renewing Germany’s energy system. ”

The effect of superconductivity has been known for almost 100 years. However, the amazing ability of superconductors to conduct current without resistance is met with one serious limitation - it manifests itself only at extremely low temperatures, close to absolute zero. In 1987, two German physicists received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the so-called “High temperature” superconductors operating at temperatures of -200 ° C. Thanks to this study, it became possible to create a conductor consisting of a special kind of YBCO ceramics, which, when cooled to -200, worked successfully for a long time. Such a 10,000-volt conductor replaces the usual high-voltage line with 110,000 volts - ordinary copper cable has too much resistance loss.

Comments on a post from a Nik_sav specialist : Temperatures around -200 Celsius are beneficial from an economic point of view - the energy costs for cooling the superconductor and contacts are lower than the losses in copper wires. In the case of cables, liquid nitrogen is supplied under pressure to the cable cooling channels. Typically, direct and reverse refrigerant currents are used with refrigerators at both ends of the cable.

If the use of such power cables becomes widespread, cities can save on high-voltage lines - the space they occupy will be freed up, the power network will be simplified, and giant transformer stations will become unnecessary.