Here’s an excerpt from a PR video producer John Heaney created for SuperPower and their Albany Cable Project. The video explained the technology behind low temperature cryogenic electrical conductivity or HTS Technology. The video featured testimony from NY State executives from NYSERDA, National Grid, SuperPower’s partners in Japan and the U.S. Department of Energy. The video was part of a public relations piece detailing the benefits of HTS technology and how it would benefit New York’s upstate communities.

ORIGINS

Low Temperature Superconductors (LTS)

Low Temperature Superconductors were discovered in 1911 (see “What is Superconductivity?â€). LTS materials need to be cooled to about 4 K, which is achieved with liquid helium. Clinical MRI was the first major commercial application of superconductivity and remains as the major market today.

High Temperature Superconductors (HTS)

The discovery of ceramic-based high temperature superconductors in 1986 in Switzerland opened the possibility of applying superconductivity to electric power devices. The ‘high’ in HTS refers to the ability to achieve the superconducting state at temperatures attainable using inexpensive liquid nitrogen, approximately 77K. The reduced cooling needs of HTS offer performance advantages to electric power devices that did not exist with LTS.