The DRYSMES4GRID Project: Development of a 500 kJ/200 kW Cryogen-Free Cooled SMES Demonstrator Based on MgB2

Increase of the critical current density of MgB2 superconducting bulk samples by means of methylene blue dye additions

“…Magnesium diboride (MgB2), being made of abundant and non-toxic constituent elements, and thanks to its transition temperature (Tc) close to 40 K, is among the most promising superconducting materials for large scale applications. In the form of wires or bulk samples, it has already been used for demonstration units, including high field magnets [1,2], energy storage devices [3,4], high power cables [5], racetrack coils [6], etc. In spite of these successful realizations, further improvements of the critical current density (jc) performance of MgB2 wires and bulk samples under the application of magnetic fields are desirable since jc tends to be severely suppressed when a magnetic field is acting on the material.…”

Critical current density improvements in MgB 2 superconducting bulk samples by K 2 CO 3 additions

“…For several applications involving high magnetic fields such as magnets [1,2], energy storage devices [3,4], high power cables [5], etc., exploiting the superconducting properties of MgB 2 on a large-scale commercial level requires further improvements of the critical current density (j c ) performance of wires and bulk samples, because this parameter tends to be severely suppressed as soon as a magnetic field is acting on the material. This is especially important if MgB 2 is meant to be used at an operation temperature of 20 K. Besides the addition of nanoparticles acting as flux pinning centers [6][7][8], doping on the boron sites in the MgB 2 crystal lattice has been found to be effective in enhancing the pinning force and hence the j c of MgB 2 under high magnetic fields [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

Overview and Assessment of Superconducting Technologies for Power Grid Applications

“…Live, successful in-grid demonstrations of operational SMES systems are few and far between however there is a 3year project active in Italy, "DRYGRID4SMES", which involves research and development of a prototype cryogen-free SMES system based upon the MgB2 and could demonstrate a new method of cooling via heat exchanger as opposed to more common liquid at cryogenic temperatures [29]. The development of a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) concept has recently been reported that combines a SMES and a battery energy storage (BES) system into a single device.…”