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Raising the temperature
The international profile of New Zealand’s emerging high temperature superconductivity (HTS[?]) industry gained a boost recently when IRL and some of its commercialisation partners showcased HTS capabilities at several high-profile events in Europe.
Representatives of IRL’s HTS team were joined by counterparts from HTS-110[?], Fabrum Solutions and General Cable Superconductors on stands at the European Conference on Applied Superconductivity at The Hague in the Netherlands and MT-22, the 22nd International Conference on Magnet Technology, in Marseille, France.
With funding assistance from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the companies were able to co-brand their promotional efforts to showcase New Zealand’s growing capability and products in an industry that is expected to be worth several billion dollars globally in the coming decades.
HTS technology enables the transmission of electricity without resistance or the loss of energy. In coming years superconducting technology will enable the manufacture of lighter, smaller and more efficient machines than can be achieved with existing copper wire technology. Since its discovery in the 1980s New Zealand has been at the forefront of fundamental research and the commercial application of HTS.
Dr Bob Buckley, Superconductivity and Energy Group Manager, led the IRL presence and says the exposure for the New Zealand HTS industry was invaluable.
“There was a lot of interest at the New Zealand stands at both conferences and the technologies being developed by the New Zealand companies were mentioned several times in the technical sessions.”
Refrigeration, HTS magnets, current lead and winding cable (known as Roebel cable) products were displayed by the various companies represented, with oral presentations, posters and academic papers presented by IRL and HTS-110 scientists and engineers.
In conjunction with the two conferences, and in recognition of the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of superconductivity, New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, George Troup, hosted a reception at his residence in The Hague that was attended by around 60 representatives of the international HTS community.
HTS-110 Project Manager Tijs Robinson says the events represented “fantastic exposure” and profiled on the world stage the critical mass that is being achieved by the New Zealand HTS industry.
“We had a number of solid business enquiries that we will be following up,” he says.
Release Date:
15 November, 2011