Rockwell Automation demonstrates first high-temperature superconducting motor

Motor uses second-generation wire

Rockwell Automation, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Superconductivity Partnerships with Industry (SPI) program, recently successfully demonstrated the capabilities Reliance Electric’s 2-hp, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) motor with second-generation HTS wire and coils. The demonstration is a move toward the commercialization of super-efficient high-horsepower motors, which are designed to potentially reduce energy losses by half.

The motor used in the demonstration is SuperPower’s new HTS ceramic-based, second-generation coated-conductor wire, and it marks the first time 2G wire has been used to create coils large enough for a 2-hp electric motor. The motor used 14 meters of wire, wound into two rotating field coils.

Reliance Electric has been working with the SPI program since 1994 to make superconductivity a viable energy solution for rotating electric machinery using 1G HTS wire.