press release
Supplied rare earth high temperature superconducting wire to CFS in the U.S., expanding production capacity - Contributing to a carbon-neutral society -
February 28, 2023
Fujikura Ltd.
Fujikura Ltd. (Director, President and CEO: Naoki Okada) has begun delivery of rare earth high-temperature superconducting wire *2 to Commonwealth Fusion Systems *1 (hereinafter CFS), a company in the United States working to demonstrate the world's first nuclear fusion reactor, and will promote the expansion of production capacity for the wire in the future.
【point】
- Contributing to the need for carbon-free energy and efforts toward the development of "nuclear fusion power generation," which is expected to fundamentally solve environmental problems
・Establish mass production technology for rare earth high-temperature superconducting wire that achieves high current characteristics and high strength in the ultra-high magnetic fields required for nuclear fusion reactors. Promote expansion of production capacity.
Founded in 2018 as a spin-off company of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), CFS is a cutting-edge company that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, working to realize the world's first commercial nuclear fusion reactor.
Compared to conventional power generation, nuclear fusion power generation does not emit carbon dioxide, and the resources are abundant in seawater. It is also safer, and is expected to be a technology that will fundamentally solve our energy and environmental problems.
By adopting the rare earth high-temperature superconducting wire material developed by our company that realizes ultra-high magnetic fields, it will be possible to make the superconducting electromagnets required for nuclear fusion power generation more compact than ever before.
Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity *3, Furukawa Electric has continued to conduct world-class research and development, and currently supplies high-performance, uniform rare-earth high-temperature superconducting wire both in Japan and overseas, which has earned it high praise from users.
The high-temperature superconducting nuclear fusion demonstration reactor that CFS is trying to realize needs to achieve not only high current characteristics in an ultra-strong magnetic field, but also high strength at the same time. With the high technical capabilities we have cultivated over many years, we have established the mass production technology to meet these requirements.
Brandon Sorbom, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of CFS, said, "We are pleased to work with Fujikura as one of our partners to provide high-temperature superconducting wire for the SPARC *4 fusion magnets. We have been very impressed with the performance of Fujikura's high-temperature superconducting wire and look forward to working with them to scale up production to meet the large volumes of high-temperature superconducting wire required by the fusion industry."
With this new facility at CFS, Furukawa Electric will expand its production capacity and increase its presence in rare earth high-temperature superconductivity. It will also continue to contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society through its contributions to various next-generation superconducting devices.
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Photo of rare earth high temperature superconducting wire |
*1 Commonwealth Fusion Systems
The company is based in Devens, Massachusetts, USA, and was founded in 2018 as a spinoff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the aim of commercializing the world's first nuclear fusion power generation using high-temperature superconductivity. It has 350 employees.
*2 Rare earth high-temperature superconducting wire
A superconducting wire formed by growing crystals of oxide superconducting material made of rare earths, etc., on a tape-shaped metal substrate such as a nickel-based alloy, with an intermediate layer in between. Its characteristics are excellent even in ultra-high magnetic fields, and it is expected to become widespread in the realization of next-generation superconducting devices.
*3 High-temperature superconductivity
Superconductivity is the phenomenon in which electrical resistance becomes zero below a certain temperature. There are low-temperature superconductors (metallic superconductors) that are cooled using liquid helium (boiling point: -269°C), and high-temperature superconductors (oxide-based superconductors) that exhibit superconductivity even at temperatures that do not require liquid helium.
*4 SPARC
This is a nuclear fusion verification reactor currently being developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
[Reference: Terminology explanation]
Nuclear fusion
It is the source of the sun's energy, a reaction in which the nuclei of small atoms fuse together, generating an enormous amount of energy in the process. It is said that 1 gram of fuel can produce the same amount of energy as burning 8 tons of oil. This resource is found abundantly in seawater, and since it does not produce carbon dioxide, it is considered a power generation method that is expected to help realize a carbon-neutral society in the future.
