OREANDA-NEWS.  August 16, 2012. The yttrium-based superconducting wire for high magnetic field(note 1), which was developed by SuperPower Inc. of the United States, a subsidiary of Furukawa Electric, was selected as a “2012 R&D 100”(note 2) winning technology, reported the press-centre of Furukawa.

This award is organized by R&D Magazine, a US science and technology magazine, and SuperPower Inc. won it together with the University of Houston as joint developers of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The annual R&D 100 Awards, held for the 50th time this year, are granted to the 100 most promising research and development achievements from among products, processes, materials, and software introduced to the global market over the past year. It is a globally recognized award, and the U.S. Department of Energy posts Secretary Steven Chu’s comments emphasizing the significance of winning the award and expressing his congratulations to winners.

SuperPower Inc. and the University of Houston were highly evaluated for their practical application of the yttrium-based superconducting wire, the pinning function of which has been improved by evenly dispersing nanostructure oxides in the superconducting layer, giving the wire the ability to carry more current even in high magnetic fields. This wire is essential for superconducting devices in which wires are coiled and high magnetic fields are generated, such as SMES for electricity storage, wind power generators, MRI, and clinical accelerators.