Overview of R&D activities on applications of superconductivity to power apparatuses in Japan Original Research Article

R&D priorities of superconducting power apparatuses were investigated by NEDO sending questionnaires to experts in the field of superconductivity applications. As a result of the investigation, superconducting generators with low temperature superconductor superconducting field windings, high temperature superconductor (HTS) power cables, HTS fault current limiters and HTS transformers had high R&D priorities and are expected to come into the real applications in the years of 2011–2015. Based on this result, the government decided to raise three national projects in the year of 2000 to develop those apparatuses together with flywheel energy storage. Beside of those three projects, there are two more national projects for fundamental material technology developments for HTS applications (raised in 1998) and R&D of SMES (raised in 1998). Important results are coming out now, though most of the projects are in early stage of the project term.