Establishment of design guidelines and development basis for high-temperature superconducting cables for long-distance AC power transmission

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19H02120
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 21010:Power engineering-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: TSUDA Makoto 東北大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (10267411)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 宮城 大輔 千葉大学, 大学院工学研究院, 教授 (10346413) ; 長崎 陽 東北大学, 工学研究科, 助教 (60823747)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 超電導ケーブル / 洋上風力 / 高温超電導 / 交流損失

Outline of Final Research Achievements

There is an urgent need to expand the introduction of renewable energy sources. The objective of this study was to realize high-temperature superconducting cables that enable low-loss, long-distance, high-capacity AC power transmission, which is indispensable for expanding the introduction of offshore wind power generation systems, which have the highest potential among renewable energy sources in Japan. A cable design method was investigated to enable the long-distance operation of high-temperature superconducting cables for AC, which has not been realized so far. By introducing a low thermal conductivity layer between the inner and outer refrigerant channels in a three-phase coaxial superconducting cable, we succeeded in adjusting the temperature distribution inside the cable and maximizing the cooling effect of liquid nitrogen to enable long-distance power transmission more than five times longer than conventional AC superconducting cables.

Free Research Field

応用電気エネルギーシステム

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

大容量・低損失送電には超電導ケーブルの適用が有効であるが、これまでは、冷却システムの制約により長距離送電が不可能であった。本研究により、世界で初めて超電導ケーブルによる10km以上の長距離送電が可能になった。本成果により、大容量・コンパクト・高効率な長距離送電が可能になり、2050年の温室効果ガス排出量ゼロの実現に不可欠となる大容量洋上風力発電システムの導入拡大に大きく貢献することが期待される。