CORPORATE NEWS:

Nexans’ HTS elements are key to US Department of Energy

Nexans, France, has been awarded the contract to supply the high-temperature superconductor components for the US Department of Energy’s $12-million Matrix Fault Current Limiter (MFCL) project. The prime contractor for the project is SuperPower Inc., a wholly owned energy technology subsidiary of Intermagnetics General Corp., USA, a leading participant in superconducting applications for energy technology. The new device will be based on proprietary technology developed by SuperPower Inc. With a voltage of 138kV, this is expected to be the first fault current limiter world-wide for the transmission level, culminating with the installation of the MFCL in a utility substation by 2006. The new superconducting fault current limiter technology will also be the first capable of stabilising the transmission grid from power surges. Nexans will be supplying the high-temperature superconductor elements for the new device, applying its proprietary and patented melt cast processing (MCP) technique. Mr Joachim Bock, managing director of Nexans SuperConductors GmbH, the unit that will provide the components, commented: “The HTS components we are developing for the MFCL project will be different from the components we have fabricated previously, as this new type of fault current limiter requires a new type of functional element. We have been at the forefront of HTS technology for energy applications for over 10 years and we will rely on our well established MCP material. We believe this will provide the best technical solution for this innovative new technology and, with our efficient manufacturing process, we are confident that the MFCL will be an economical success”. Nexans’ partnership with SuperPower represents a logical and complementary combination of proprietary technologies that will benefit the ultimate end-user. The MCFL project is designed to employ Nexans’ melt cast superconductors, as opposed to the more commonly employed wires or tapes, because of the substantially greater current carrying capacity required by the MFCL.

Nexans’ high-temperature superconductor material for the MFCL project is a ceramic compound of bismuth), strontium, calcium and copper). Superconducting bulk parts made by melt cast processing have been in commercial use for current lead applications since 1995. Recently, this technique has been adapted to manufacture bulk tubular parts, which are cut into a double spiral providing a long active conductor length together with a compact design.

Company Information:
Company:	Nexans
Country:	France
Fax:	+33 1 56 69 84 84
Email:
Website:	www.nexans.com