High Temperature Superconductor-Based Technologies as Enabler for Efficient and Resilient Energy Systems

New technologies based on the use of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) can lead to higher efficiency and more resilient energy systems. HTS applications are creating unique opportunities for promising commercial components that can enable the needed evolution of the energy system, such as high-capacity power cables, fault current limiters, high-efficiency generators for offshore wind turbines, energy storage, and innovative transformers. Not only do superconductor-based devices provide improvements over conventional electric grid technologies, they also offer unique alternatives to system challenges that cannot be addressed otherwise. This paper, developed by the International Energy Agency's Technology Collaborative Program on High Temperature Superconductivity, will explore the potential capabilities of HTS-based devices to advance the transformation of today's energy systems toward more a reliable, resilient, secure, affordable, flexible, and efficient regime.