A second generation high-temperature superconducting wire measuring 935 meters developed through the combined efforts of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's superconductivity technology group and SuperPower of Schenectady, N.Y., recently transmitted a record 158,950 amps-per-meter of current. These wires were used to fabricate a strong, flexible cable at low cost for power grid applications, including fault current limiters, transformers, coils, and motors. This wire could provide power utilities in the future with the ability to produce lighter, smaller, and more efficient power equipment. The wire could also increase the amount of electricity transmitted at a given time, while enabling the transmission stream cooled with liquid nitrogen to be less congested as a result of operating more efficiently due to less resistance. This technology recently earned a 2008 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer and is part of an ongoing test to transmit electricity to a power grid in Albany, N.Y. The funding source is DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
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