What is Conductus ®?
STI’s Conductus® is a High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) wire product family capable of supporting a broad
range of superconducting applications and systems. In production today, Conductus® second generation (2G) HTS
wire is a high current carrying ‘coated conductor’ which provides dramatic performance improvements, higher power
density, smaller size, and significant cost benefits over traditional copper wire.
We believe that superconducting wire will modernize power generation, distribution, transmission, and storage. Initial
applications for Conductus® 2G HTS wire include high power transmission and distribution cables, superconducting
fault current limiters, large industrial motors and generators, high field magnets, and offshore wind turbine generators.
Interest for Conductus® 2G HTS Wire has grown steadily.
Our wire is manufactured through a proprietary and highly refined deposition process called RCE-CDR in which
superconducting materials are grown atop a metal substrate to create a very precise crystalline film of rare-earthbarium-copper-oxide (RE-BCO). This compound acts as a superconductor when cooled to cryogenic temperatures.
We believe our proprietary technology and manufacturing expertise will enable broad commercialization of
superconducting wire by addressing three industry requirements: reliable supply, price, and performance. These
significant advantages will enable substantial market opportunities, primarily with Smart Grid infrastructure
applications.
Conductus ® Superconducting Wire Technology Advantages
STI’s manufacturing methodsVariable
for HTSCap
wireLayer
uses a simplified wire architecture that produces high performance wire
which is cost competitive with copper. Our uniqueRCE-CDR
RCE-CDR HTS deposition offers an economic, scalable, high
1-50 µm
throughput process to successfully commercialize
HTS wire for large
IBADemerging markets. Overall, STI’s HTS wire
µm
process requires fewer manufacturing steps than other2-3
production
techniques. Fewer
SDP steps reduce the total processing
.05-.2
µm
Substrate
time and increases product yield. Reduced processing time requires less
production
equipment
per km of wire, which
1 µm
results in lower cap-ex, less electricity usage, and a smaller production footprint.
100 µm
• High performance +500 Amps/cm-width at self-field, 77K
• Improved economics by reduced cost and wire needed per device
• Robust and flexible design approved for use in superconducting cables, motors, generators, high field magnets,
SFCls, SMES, and transformer devices/systems
• High in-field magnetic performance
• Optimized for low AC losses
• Designed to operate across broad temperature range (4K to 77K)
• Custom widths from 3mm to 100mm
• Variety of cap layer options – silver, copper, brass
Variable Cap Layer
1-50 µm
RCE-CDR
2-3 µm
IBAD
.05-.2 µm
SDP
1 µm
Substrate
100 µm
Superconductor Technologies, Inc.
9101 Wall St., Ste 1300 Austin, TX 78754
www.suptech.com