Development Status of Superconducting Rotating Machines

Advances in High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) are enabling a new class of synchronous rotating machines (SuperMotors and SuperGenerators) that can generically be categorized as SuperMachines. Compared to conventional machines of equivalent rating, these SuperMachines are expected to be less expensive, lighter, more compact, efficient, and provide significantly superior stable operation in a power system. The field windings are made with HTS conductor material (BSCCO, or Bi-2223) which operates at 35-40 K and can be cooled with inexpensive, off-the-shelf cryocoolers available from a number of manufacturers throughout the world. As will be discussed, these advanced SuperMachines are attractive for use in industrial as well as naval and commercial maritime industry applications. This paper discusses recent SuperMachine work at AMSC and other companies. HTS rotating machine technology is maturing rapidly, and electricity producers as well as the end-users will undoubtedly benefit enormously from these advancements.