Friday, 2C-12, 2:05-2:15

Strategies to Reach 2G HTS Wire Price of $50/kA-m without High Volume Production

Venkat Selvamanickam

University of Houston and TcSUH/SuperPower

2G HTS wire has been available in lengths of several hundred meters with uniformly good performance for the last two years. Significant reductions in price have been achieved and a standard 2G HTS wire commands a price of $ 400/kA-m in 2008. This is a factor of about eight higher than the target of $ 50/kA-m that has been established for wider acceptance of 2G HTS wire in commercial products. Depending on wire volume to achieve this price target appears to be impractical given the scope and demands of the various prototype HTS projects worldwide over the next four years. Hence, there is critical need to reach a price level of $ 50/kA-m without benefits of economies of scale. There are multiple technological opportunities to achieve this goal. At present, since the tape speed during deposition is quite high at more than 100 m/h, non-deposition time is the limiting factor in the overall product output which affects labor and overhead cost. Appropriate modification to the conductor architecture can be made to reduce this non-deposition time. Yield is arguably the single most important factor in determining wire cost, especially with high current wires. Simplification of processes and architecture as well as novel on-line monitoring techniques can be highly beneficial to improve yield. Finally, raw material cost in vapor deposition processes can be substantially reduced by improving precursor/target to film conversion efficiency. These and other strategies to reduce conductor cost to reach price levels of $ 50/kA-m without high volume production will be discussed.

Back to the Friday Schedule.