Emerging 21st Century Markets and Outlook for Applied Superconducting Products

Abstract

The spectacular discoveries in superconductivity that occurred during the 20th Century, as reported in the scientific literature and worldwide news media, have generally overshadowed the necessary and important underlying developments in cryogenic technology and equipment. The first and still only major commercial and economically viable application of superconductivity — MR1 systems that have revolutionized medical diagnostics — owes much of its success not only to the availability of high-performance superconductor wire but also to advances in cryogenic technology.

Discoveries within the past decade of higher-temperature superconductive (HTS) materials have more recently generated much renewed interest in the need for reliable and cost-effective cryogenic systems. This historic interrelationship of the two technologies will become increasingly important in the early years of the 21st Century, when new multi-billion-dollar worldwide markets for superconductive products and equipment are expected to emerge.

HTS-based products, now under development, range from areas of applications not only in medical systems but also in electronics, communications, electric power, industrial processing and products, and transportation, among other likely markets. These potentially enormous opportunities are generally expected to utilize readily available liquid-nitrogen-based equipment, an assumption that seems overly simplistic and possibly naive. This presentation will review the prospects for new superconductive product areas and associated cryogenic equipment needs, as well as the corresponding technical and economic challenges faced by the superconductive and cryogenic industries.