Superconductors make efficient power transmission possible.
RHEINBACH, GERMANY: Deutsche Nanoschicht GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH has opened its new pilot plant for the manufacture of high temperature superconductors. The facility located in Rheinbach is based on an in-house developed chemical manufacturing process and has a fifty times higher capacity than the company laboratory plant used to date.
The pilot plant is an important step on the way to market launch of the superconductors. BASF New Business provides customers with samples of the wire manufactured in the new plant to produce prototypes for innovative, high-efficiency applications in power grids. Primary examples are current limiters and cables for direct and alternating current.
To produce wires for high-temperature superconductors, Deutsche Nanoschicht uses a dedicated coating process based on chemical solution deposition. In a continuous process, very thin films of a superconducting material and several buffer layers are applied to a metal strip. In contrast to other, physical methods, the chemical process requires neither a vacuum nor a clean room environment. This presents a decisive advantage for the manufacturing costs of the superconducting wires.
"With the new pilot plant, we can offer our customers superconducting wire in good and reliable quality. Our manufacturing process is highly scalable. We are planning to put a large-scale plant into operation in the medium term," said Dr Guido Voit, managing director of BASF New Business.
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