Enabling Technology Project
E2 Superconducting Electric Power Equipment Using Liquid Hydrogen Cooling
Outline of the area
Hiroyuki Ohsaki
Professor, The University of
Tokyo
The energy system utilizing hydrogen as fuel or energy carrier is expected to greatly reduce the emission of CO2, and various research and development is being conducted. In this project, an energy equipment system integrating the hydrogen technology and the superconductive technology, in which hydrogen is utilized in the form of liquid hydrogen also as extremely low temperature refrigerant, is developed as innovative low carbon technology. The superconductive electrical equipment with liquid hydrogen cooling is expected to be technology to improve the efficiency and to lower the CO2 emission in the system and are largely progressed. These include the superconductive power generator with liquid hydrogen cooling applicable for the power generation system utilizing the hydrogen turbine and the controlling system for electrical system in which the fuel battery and the super conductive energy storage such as SMES (Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage) are combined as an energy storage device suppressing the output power fluctuations of the renewable energy.
Hence, focused on the superconductive coil with liquid hydrogen cooling at a technical level for equipment application, a project is conducted by organically cooperating the various technologies from the applicable low cost superconductive long-length superconductive wires based on MgB2 wires, REBCO superconductive wires and so on, to the cryogenic technology by liquid hydrogen and the equipment systems technology such as magnets and rotators, thereby accelerating the research and development for practical use.
