Site:           Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (FZK)
                Institut für Technische Physik (ITP)
                P.O. Box 3640D-76021 
                Karlsruhe, Germany
                http://www.fzk.de
Date Visited:   14 June 1996
WTEC Attendees: R.D. Blaugher (report author), 
                D. Larbalestier
Hosts:          Prof. Dr. Peter Komarek, Director, 
                   Institute for Technical Physics, FZK
                Prof. Dr. H. Rietschel, Director, 
                   Institute for Nuclear Solid State Physics, FZK

BACKGROUND AND CURRENT HTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Karlsruhe Research Center (Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, FZK), which was formerly known as the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center, KfK, is one of the largest government laboratories in Germany. The primary research activities at FZK currently cover four main areas: environment, energy, microsystems engineering, and fundamental research. The employment level at FZK is nearly 3,000, which includes approximately 1,200 scientists and engineers and typically an additional ~100 guest scientists and ~200 predoctoral students. The research division of FZK has sixteen scientific institutes with a total annual budget of DM 520 million, of which approximately DM 400 million is specifically labeled for research and development. Around DM 80 million of the total budget is derived from external contract research.

The superconductivity effort at FZK falls mainly under two of these institutes: the Institute for Technical Physics (ITP), Prof. Dr. Peter Komarek, Director, and the Institute for Nuclear Solid State Physics (INFP), Prof. Dr. H. Rietschel, Director. Additional contributions come from the three divisions of the Material Research Institute (IMF I-III), whose directors are Prof. Zum Gahr, Prof. Munz, and Prof. Hausselt, respectively.

Most of the "high current" applied superconductivity R&D at FZK is concentrated in the Institute for Technical Physics, with just one project in Rietschel's group on flywheels and processing of melt-textured YBCO. Fusion research, which had been one of the primary activities under the previous KfK charter, continues to be the main focus for the ITP. The German fusion project is part of a major European effort that involves all states of the European Union, except Greece and including Switzerland. The primary fusion-related effort for the ITP is in the area of SC magnets using conventional liquid-helium-cooled conductors. The budget for SC magnet R&D is ~25-30% of the total fusion budget. The rest of the superconductivity research within the ITP is directed at basic superconductor material development with emphasis on HTS, and at engineering applications of SCs, which includes high field magnets and all power engineering.

Excluding the fusion effort, the superconductivity R&D for the ITP is spread over these specific projects:

• physics of SC, mainly on HTS (together with INFP)
• thin films, including applications (together with INFP)
• development of HTS bulk materials and conductors -- Bi-2223 tape and melt-processing of YBCO
• high field magnets -- Homer I & II and NMR
• cryogenic development -- pulse tube refrigeration and thermal insulation for transmission lines
• power engineering -- SMES; transmission cable work with Siemens; high voltage terminations for cables; fault-current limiters, which includes a collaboration with the Israelis on an inductive design; and all International Energy Association activities
• structural materials (together with IMF II)

The overall budget for all of the superconductivity programs at FZK, excluding fusion, is ~DM 30 million and involves 90 man years. Table FZK.1 presents the manpower and budget for power engineering and fusion activities accorded to the identified research areas.

Table FZK.1
Superconductivity Programs at FZK

The funding for this effort is mostly internal and comes from German government sources, ~90% from the Federal Republic of Germany and ~10% from the State of Baden-Wurttemberg. Part of the fusion budget (~20-25%) comes from Euratom, and some of the HTS support (~10-15%) comes from Brussels (the European Union) under the BRITE-EURAM and ESPRIT programs. The majority of the staff salaries (~90%) are paid from the government funding. The overall funding for SC has been fairly stable and is expected to continue to be stable over the next few years.

SPECIFIC POWER-RELATED AND HTS PROGRAMS

FZK has a major SMES program, which also involves five German utilities. This program addresses a power quality problem related to "flicker" due to the frequent startup of large motors at a saw mill. FZK is presently constructing a 250 kJ SMES with a toroidal field design to minimize the stray field. Its analysis indicates that a SMES system is ideal for reducing the flicker, due to the SMES fast response capability. The SMES program is benefiting from some of the past research on fusion, which has produced acceptable approaches for the high voltage (HV) terminations and rapid field changes in SC coils. These HV terminations can also be used for the SC cable program. FZK is also studying the use of SMES as a pulse power source for providing ~10 GW pulses with a 2.0 ms duration at a 10 Hz rate to power rf klystrons at the Deutsches Electronen Synchrotron (DESY) laboratory.

The flywheel program, discussed earlier, is directed by the INFP using melt-processed YBCO for the bearings. INFP has advertised and offered for commercial sale semifinished cubes, cylinders, and rods of melt-processed YBCO. A 300 Wh flywheel model has been built and tested by INFP using superconducting bearings combined with permanent magnets. The flywheel system, using disks constructed from advanced carbon fibers, was operated from 30,000 to 50,000 rpm and produced 10 kVA/300 Wh at 50,000 rpm. The electric drive system for the flywheel was developed in cooperation with the Institut für Elektrische Maschinen und Antriebe of Stuttgart University. The next step in the program is to develop a larger flywheel, with a capacity of ~ 7 kWh/250 kVA, together with industry and accompanied by application studies with the utilities. The overall storage program at FZK, which includes the flywheel activity, is currently budgeted at ~ DM 1.4 million and involves ~ 6 man years of effort (these manpower and budgetary estimates are included in Table FZK.1). For the next steps, if approved, additional external funds will be added.

The HTS conductor program at ITP within FZK is fairly significant and is currently budgeted at ~DM 2.8 million with a 10-man-year level of effort (these figures also are included in Table FZK.1). The primary activity is directed at Bi-2223 development with plans in the near future, together with the INFP, to look at a textured substrate approach similar to the ORNL "RaBiTs." FZK's conductor program, which collaborates heavily with industry, has provided several hundred meters of Bi-2223 conductor to Siemens for the cable program. FZK is looking at alternative sheath materials for improved strength and reduced ac losses by twisting and by use of a mixed matrix. Also of interest is a push to reduce the overall cost of the Ag sheathed powder-in-tube conductor approach.

GENERAL MARKET AND PROGRAM PROJECTIONS

Prof. Dr. Komarek expects the next major application effort at FZK to be on fault-current limiters, which are of interest to German utilities in the 110-380 kV range for reducing faults on transmission interties. There is currently no major interest within these utilities for development of SC generators, motors, transformers, or SC transmission lines, even though research is being carried out on this last technology. Serious market interest in cables and transformers as defined by potential orders from the utilities may be as much as 20 years off.

Komarek expects the market for HTS inserts for high-field magnets (> 20 T) to develop within the next five years. Magnetic separation is also an area that may expand, especially with the integration of a "cryogen-free" design. The European market is viewed as cautious for all HTS products, with only the HTS leads enjoying a near-term opportunity; in fact, the leads are viewed as a present commercial reality.

Komarek indicated that the overall market projections for superconductivity presented at the 1996 International Superconductivity Industry Summit (ISIS) were highly optimistic. The German estimates as expressed through the Consortium of European Companies (CONECTUS) study were more conservative and probably more realistic. He provided the data for projected SC markets that are shown in Table FZK.2, which only applies to the European market. He estimated the world market to be approximately two to three times larger.

Table FZK.2
Projected European Superconductivity Market (M = million)

U.S. estimates, obtained from EPRI, for all of the electric power applications are given for comparison:

$600 million (2000), $3,300 million (2010), and $9,600 million (2020)

These U.S. estimates do not appear to be inconsistent with the CONECTUS study and combined with the European figures present a more conservative market forecast than the ISIS study. As noted in the Japanese site reports, some of the panel's Japanese hosts also expressed the view that the ISIS forecast was highly optimistic.