It appears that lossless power transmission is no longer a pipe dream. Even though it’s only the first quarter of 2022, we’ve already heard of some astounding technological advances. First there were sodium-ion batteries, and now there is a superconducting power transmission system that promises 0% transmission losses while delivering electricity.
It claims to be a potentially cost-effective alternative to operating trains, as well as a potential global warming countermeasure. According to recent reports, however, the technology has reached the point of practical completeness in Japan.
At a location in Miyazaki Prefecture where it is performing demonstration tests on this technology, Japan’s railway-affiliated research institute has laid a 1.5-kilometer superconducting transmission line.
How it Works
Transmission losses occur when power is converted to heat as a result of the wire’s electrical resistance. When a transmission line is chilled to -269 degrees Celsius and placed in a superconducting condition with liquid helium, the wire’s electrical resistance drops to zero, effectively eliminating all power losses.
Initially, the technology’s cost was a major impediment to mass production, but now that liquid nitrogen enters a superconducting state at -196 degrees Celsius, it may be utilised as a coolant and is 10% less expensive than conventional liquid helium.
Benefits of this Technology
The Tokyo-based Railway Technical Research Institute has figured out a technique to coat transmission lines with this less expensive coolant. For the time being, the test cable can carry the 1,500 volts and several hundred amperes required by the railway.
According to the Japanese Institute of Energy Economics, 4% of the country’s generated electricity is lost in the transmission process. The country’s trains consume roughly 17 billion kilowatt-hours each year, with about 700 million kilowatt-hours, or about 160,000 typical households, being used.
Not The First
Given the fact that transmission loss is a major concern in many countries throughout the world, Japan is not alone in developing superconducting power transmission technology.
A 1.2-kilometer superconducting cable was previously installed in Shanghai by China’s state-owned transmission business in November 2021. In Germany, the Ministry of Economy and Energy launched a project in 2020 to install a 12-kilometer superconducting transmission line beneath Munich.
To read our blog on Scientists have developed low cost Sodium-ion batteries, click here.
