Innovative Warm-to-Cold High Temperature Superconducting Power Cable Termination

Today’s Navy continues to see increased demand for more power applied from both on and off the ship. This need is largely driven by the continued development of high power density advanced weapons systems and sensors. Continued space and weight limitations for these ship applications will drive the need for new power solutions to be light and compact, easing installation on new ships and enabling upgrades on existing ones. To meet this need, highly efficient methods of transferring large amounts of power are being investigated by NSWC Carderock in Philadelphia through the use of High temperature Superconductors (HTS). Although the team in Philadelphia is developing these high capacity, compact power cables, there is no active development for the terminations that these extremely power dense cable systems will need if they are to be integrated at the ship level. American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) has gained experience in the development, design and manufacture of low voltage DC HTS cable and connectors through its partnership with NSWC on the HTS advanced degaussing program. Additionally, AMSC has recently integrated a high capacity power cable connector, also developed in partnership with NSWC, into an HTS cable. AMSC is uniquely positioned to successfully develop this type of high efficiency, low temperature electrical connection.