Press Release Back Number(2004)

Improving the performance of a superconductive conductor while reducing the cost!
- The Goal of the Superconductive Power Storage System Technology Development Project Achieved-

December 20, 2004
Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

Our company was commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to conduct a project of the Resource and Energy Agency, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry entitled "Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage System (SMES) Technological Development", and has since been developing a technology to reduce the cost of the superconductive coil, the heart of the SMES, which is the developmental goal of the project.

This project was conducted for five years from FY1999 to FY2003 with the goal of cutting the cost of the SMES, to utilize the superior electric power system control function of SMES in stable supply and quality maintenance of electric power.
We at Chubu Power Electric have succeeded in the technological development outlined below.

  • Tolerance optimization design technology for the superconductor developed
    A new design technology able to optimize the required tolerance for the superconductor has been developed. The new technology can provide both low alternate current loss and high conduction stability, while reducing the cost to reducing the cost by 90%.
  • External magnetic-field inhibition technology developed
    We have invented a coil arrangement (4-pole solenoid arrangement) such that the magnetic field from the coils is contained within the coils. This can inhibit the magnetic field of a superconductive coil from leaking outside the coil.
  • World's first attainment of 10,000 successive discharge/recharge cycle
    Operation tests in which the discharging and recharging of coils was repeated for 10,000 cycles verified that the power storage part of the SMES does not deteriorate.
  • Above-target conduction speed achieved
    Though the target was 400 amperes/second, 2,000 amperes/second was achieved. Thus, five times faster energization is now possible.

Of the present developments, the tolerance optimization design technology and the external magnetic-field inhibition technology have been introduced into the SMES for voltage sag compensation which has been under field tests at the Kameyama Plant of Sharp Corp., one of the firms within our supply area, and succeeded in quenching control and substantial downsizing.

The SMES for voltage sag-compensation is a device for supplying power for a short period of time, utilizing such features as high-output and high-speed response. The high-speed operational performance was verified in a voltage sag that occurred in September 2004.