MIT centers, laboratories, departments and programs provide a multi-faceted approach to solving the world's energy challenge.
Superconductors
Nearly 10 percent of all electricity is lost as electrons traverse power lines and high-voltage transformers while traveling from the power plant to end users. The cumulative energy loss from the total volume of electricity transmitted and distributed to the world's energy consumers is enormous, as are the emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants associated with generating that increment.
The use of superconducting technologies can help minimize these energy losses and increase the overall efficiency of the power grid. They could also provide new opportunities for renewable resources such as wind and solar energy by increasing the overall capacity of the grid to accommodate the intermittent nature of these resources.
Areas of research that have great potential to enhance the promise of superconducting technology include system evaluation of superconducting and cryogenic components of the power grid; design of increased-capacity power transmission lines; investigation of high-efficiency power-conditioning equipment; examination of the implications of superconducting materials for higher performance and greater efficiency; development of new high-temperature superconducting materials; and development of electrical machinery with improved cost, performance, and efficiency.
