Flexible HTS wires: from start-up of a full-sized plant to industrial applications

For over a decade high temperature superconducting (HTS) wires have seen a continuous performance increase and have arrived at the level of technical maturity. Among the manufacturers of such wires, Trithor is the only European company that specializes exclusively in HTS wires. To meet the increasing demand for HTS wires, Trithor completed a full-sized manufacturing plant with a design capacity of 2,500 km per year. This paper reports on the plant design. Performance, reliability, quality and cost are of equal importance to the wire user. This paper addresses these areas and presents wire data. Added value in form of high performance insulation, efficient current leads, and coil winding has become available. Performance attributes will be reported in this paper. HTS wire has industrial application throughout the power infrastructure. This paper also provides information on the various prototype applications of Trithor wire. Whereas BSCCO-2223 class multifilamentary composite wire is commercially available now, the YBCO coated conductor wire to be developed by a consortium led by Trithor enables similar or improved performance at further reduced cost. 2G wire will contribute to a widespread use of HTS from 2010 onwards.