Shanghai Superconductor Becomes Key Supplier for China’s First High-Temperature Superconducting Cable Demonstration Project

On February 21, the launch ceremony for China’s first kilometer-class high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable demonstration project was held at the Shanghai Baoshan Urban Industrial Park, marking the official start of superconducting cable industrialization in China. Shanghai Superconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Superconductor) has become one of the primary superconducting material suppliers for this project.

The ceremony was chaired by Zhang Jianming, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization. Fan Shaojun, District Governor of Baoshan, delivered a welcome address. Lu Xiaochun, Secretary of the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, and Wang Hong, Secretary of the Baoshan District Committee, unveiled the plaque for the Shanghai High-Temperature Superconductor Industry Base. Academician Huang Chongqi of the Chinese Academy of Engineering spoke on the significance of cutting-edge HTS technologies.

During the ceremony, as the main HTS material supplier, Shanghai Superconductor signed a tape supply cooperation agreement with State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company. The project is scheduled to be connected to the Shanghai power grid by the end of 2019, linking two substations in the city center. This will be the world’s first deployment of a superconducting cable in the heart of a megacity and will set a global record for the current-carrying capacity of such a cable.

Xie Wei, Chief Engineer of State Grid Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company, stated that the superconducting tapes produced by Shanghai Superconductor can replace multiple traditional metal cables. He emphasized that this HTS cable demonstration project is a milestone in power grid development. For cities like Shanghai, where land resources are constrained, building new transmission lines is extremely challenging. If successful and widely adopted, superconducting technology could alleviate the conflict between dense electricity loads and limited transmission capacity in megacities.

In 2015, Shanghai Superconductor independently developed and launched China’s first kilometer-scale production line for second-generation HTS tapes using physical methods, breaking international monopolies. The materials have since been applied in several national key projects, with batch exports beginning in 2017. Currently, Shanghai Superconductor’s international and domestic sales each account for half of its business.

Shanghai Superconductor has established partnerships with over 100 universities, research institutes, and enterprises worldwide. It holds approximately 80% of the domestic market share, with its products successfully applied in numerous domestic and international projects, including the National 863 Program HTS Fault Current Limiter, China Southern Power Grid’s 500kV Superconducting Fault Current Limiter, China Southern Power Grid’s Resistive-Type Superconducting DC Fault Current Limiter, Shanghai Electric Group’s HTS Generator, UK-based Tokamak Energy’s Superconducting Fusion Project, MIT’s Energy Superconducting Fusion Project (USA), and RRI’s Superconducting Magnet Project (New Zealand). The launch of the cable demonstration project represents the critical “final step before commercialization.” It signifies that Shanghai Superconductor has completed all technical, talent, and industrial preparations for the industrialization of HTS technology. As the project advances, Shanghai Superconductor will gain the opportunity to comprehensively validate the system’s technical reliability, stability, and cost-effectiveness, accumulating firsthand data and experience.

With the commencement of China’s first kilometer-class HTS cable demonstration project, Shanghai Superconductor will deepen its strategic layout for HTS industrialization. It plans to strengthen R&D collaborations with research institutes and universities in fields such as superconducting fusion, fault current limiters, maglev trains, and superconducting energy storage devices. By refining the superconducting industrial chain, Shanghai Superconductor aims to become a globally influential superconducting enterprise, enhance the “Shanghai Manufacturing” brand, boost the core competitiveness of Shanghai’s Science and Innovation Center and urban capabilities, and seize the technological and economic high ground in the new wave of scientific and industrial transformation.