Deal brings the super motor closer

Rockwell Automation has signed an exclusive agreement with an American superconducting materials specialist, SuperPower, that could lead a new generation of light, efficient motors and generators based on high-temperature superconductor (HTS) materials.

Under the agreement, the partners will design, develop, build and install high-power HTS machines for commercial, industrial and military applications. The machines will use SuperPower`s second-generation coated ceramic HTS wires which are said to carry more current at higher temperatures than first-generation wires.

Since 1987, Rockwell engineers have been working on technologies to make superconducting machines practical. In 2001, the company demonstrated at 1,600-horsepower (1.2MW) HTS motor using first-generation wire.

Joseph Swann, president of Rockwell`s Power Systems business, predicts that the new agreement "will make a significant impact on the successful commercialisation of second-generation HTS rotating machinery, leading to cost-effective electric motors and generators that are ultra-efficient, lighter, and substantially more power dense than those that are available today".