REBCO Coated Conductor Cables for Fusion Magnets

The feasibility for fusion as a practical energy source needs to be enhanced significantly by removing some of the restrictions that low-temperature superconductors put on the fusion magnet systems. One method to simplify the magnet system is by using high-temperature superconductors (HTS) that allow for much larger temperature margins, a higher magnet performance and much less mechanical degradation in the superconductor during operation. There are currently no feasible methods to construct HTS cables that have the performance and current homogeneity needed for fusion magnets. This proposal seeks to develop HTS cables that have the electrical performance, the mechanical strength, and the homogeneity in current distribution needed for superconducting fusion magnets. This will be done through a further development of the helical RE-Ba2Cu3O7- (RE- rare earth) coated conductor cable that was invented by the PI.Commercial applications and other benefits: High-temperature superconducting magnet cables with homogeneous current distribution will enable more practical fusion magnets, the next generation of accelerator magnets for high-energy physics, proton cancer treatment facilities, and other magnet systems such as superconducting magnetic energy storage systems for use in the power grid.