Australian Superconductors - High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) Materials

Wherever electricity is generated, distributed and consumed, superconductors are the 21st century's key technology for efficient, clean, economical and ultra-powerful solutions. High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) materials and applications provide solutions to today’s pressing challenges, including:

• Rising global power consumption
• Global climate change
• Progressively competitive industrial markets
• The declining share of fossil fuels and growing importance of renewables in power generation
• Shorter cycles of technical innovation.

Australian Superconductors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zenergy Power, is a specialist manufacturer and developer of commercial applications for HTS materials.

Australian Superconductors is focused on providing energy-efficient superconductor applications for renewable energy power generation, energy distribution, and large-scale, energy intensive industrial processes. The company’s products respond directly to the demands of large electricity consumers for efficient, compact, environmentally-friendly and cost-effective solutions.

HIGH TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTOR PROPERTIES

The unique economical, environmental and technical advantages of HTS have driven the proliferation of the use of superconductive materials by electricity suppliers and industry. These advantages include:

• HTS offer loss-free power transmission – electric currents reach their destination at full strength over any distance
• HTS wires enable extremely powerful applications, their power density being over 100 times that of copper
• HTS generators yield a 2% to 4% increase of productivity compared to copper-based generators
• HTS are a key technology highly complementary to renewable power generation
• HTS technology is set to play a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions
• HTS applications can enhance both the capacity and the reliability of electric power grids

In addition to the superior technical properties of HTS, recent technological developments could reduce HTS production costs significantly. HTS wires and applications may be more cost-effective than copper-based solutions within the next few years.

HTS INDUCTION HEATERS

HTS induction heaters manufactured by Zenergy and its technology partner (Bültmann), revolutionise both energy efficiency and process flexibility in industrial aluminium, brass, bronze and copper processing. In a precision heating process, HTS induction heaters soften raw material billets in order to improve their ductility. Benefits include homogeneous and precisely controllable temperature levels, and improved productivity due to short start-up times.

FAULT CURRENT LIMITER

Acting like a firewall, Zenergy’s HTS Fault Current Limiter (FCL) protects power grid equipment against damaging power surges, significantly reducing the risk of power grid failures and interruptions in power supplies.

HTS COILS

Zenergy produces customised ready-to-install HTS coils and provides complete assistance with required peripheral cryogenic systems. Zenergy’s HTS coils are highly reliable and resilient, and offer easy integration into technical systems. They open up engineering opportunities far exceeding the potentials of copper coils, and enable the development of products with unique and compelling selling propositions.