Superconductors offer practically loss-free transmission of large quantities of electric power. Together with our partners Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and the Institute of Air Handling and Refrigeration (ILK), we have developed the worldwide first superconducting modular busbar system for commercial applications.
The demonstrator has a current rating of 20 kA and a length of 25 meters. It has shown the potential of superconductors in an industrial setting; a chlorine electrolysis at BASF SE.
Considering aspects like space, safety, sustainability and operating costs, superconducting busbars offer significant advantages for many industrial applications that require large currents. The project was government-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy through Projektträger Jülich and is still in place and continuously revised.