WTEC Panel on Power applications of superconductivity in Japan and Germany. Final report

In early 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation asked the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC) to assemble a panel to assess, relative to the United States, how Japan and Germany are responding to the challenge of applying superconductivity to power and energy applications. Although the study was focused mostly on the impact of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) on the power applications field, the WTEC panel also looked at many applications for low-temperature superconductors (LTS). The market for low-temperature superconductor applications is well established, as is that for superconducting electronics, for which there is a separate WTEC panel. The panel on power applications of superconductivity was commissioned to identify the roles of public organizations, industry, and academia for advancing power applications of superconductivity, taking both a present and a long-term view.