PROGRESS IN THE SCALE-UP OF 2G-SUPERCONDUCTORS USING INKS
In the last 2 years, OXOLUTIA has made relevant advances in the technological development of coated conductors by using cost-effective inks for the production of the high temperature superconductor layer.
Albert Calleja, company’s CEO, states: “First realistic attemps to scale the technology were successfully demonstrated in 2017 when 12-mm wide 10 meter-long tapes where obtained in reel-to-reel continuous mode showing uniform and oriented growth, with local critical current densities around 100 A/cm·width at 77 K and self field. On the other hand, in 2018 we have been concentrating in further improving the performance of the material, which we have achieved with transport currents of 220 A/cm·width at 77 K and self field in just 1-micron thick layers. Now we are planning to combine both scale-up capacities and enhancement of critical current towards the obtention of an economically-feasible manufacturing method to serve the market needs in the kilometer length. Further improvements in the performance are foreseen by internal R+D efforts as well, including thicker layers and introduction of nanoscale particles. This is showing more and more that the initial bet for the technology by founders and investors was correct.”
Cooperation with Materials Science Institute of Barcelona-CSIC is greatly acknowledged.