High-temperature superconductors for use in, among other things, electromagnets in fusion reactors and in power cables must be produced with micrometre-level precision in order to minimise alternating-current losses. High-temperature superconductors are key to manufacturing compact fusion reactors and reducing transmission losses in the power grid.
While superconductors can carry direct current without any electrical resistance and therefore without losses, the situation is more complicated when they are used for transmitting alternating current or are exposed to varying magnetic fields.
In these situations, as described later in this article, a certain amount of loss is unavoidable. The principle for minimising these losses is well known; achieving it in industrial production is quite another matter.
Our CEO Anders C. Wullf knows this quite well and gives his take on how to solve the challenge of alternating current in an interview for Ingeniøren about our superconducting tapes and the commercialisation of them.
Read the full article in the Danish paper Ingeniøren (free trial subscription available):