Power surge for Kiwi scientists

MAARTEN HOLL/ The Dominion Post

CHARGED UP: Bob Buckley with the wire that can carry 10 times as much current as copper cable.

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A New Zealand project that could transform the way the world's electricity is transmitted has received a multimillion-dollar boost.

Kiwi-made superconductor wires carry up to 10 times the current of copper wires of the same size, without losing energy.

"The whole thing is based on superconductivity," Industrial Research science group manager Bob Buckley said.

"It's a phenomenon where you pass an electric current through a material and it has no resistance to the current. A normal metal, if you pass enough current through, it will get hot. This material won't do that."

Industrial Research and its industry partners have been awarded $8.4 million over four years by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology to do more work on superconductors.

The company's scientists, based in Lower Hutt, have been developing the technology for more than 20 years. They discovered and patented a compound that could be made into wire with no electrical resistance at minus 240 degrees celsius.

The thin wire can carry as much current as a thick copper cable, opening the way for major breakthroughs in electrical engineering. Superconductor wires can be used in power cables, magnets, motors and generators. They make power transformers smaller and more efficient, and replace copper in power grids.

"This is a unique opportunity for New Zealand to maintain its lead in a new global industry," Industrial Research chief executive Shaun Coffey said. Globally the superconductor industry could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, as ageing power transformers are replaced in countries such as the United States.

Superconductors did not take up much space, so were especially valuable in crammed cities, Dr Buckley said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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