A 100 MJ SMES demonstration at FSU-CAPS

The Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) at Florida State University (FSU) was recently established to pursue research and education in power engineering. Development and demonstration of superconducting technologies is one of the cornerstones of the CAPS program. Important aspects of the program are the test of superconducting equipment at power levels up to 5 MW, and the creation of a reconfigurable network that will support pulsed power testing. A 100 MJ SMES system is being completed at BWX Technologies for integration to the CAPS test facility, to allow pulsed power operation of the testbed. The SMES coil, scheduled for completion in 2003, is based on cable-in-conduit technology and NbTi superconductor. The full system (including cryostat and power converter) will be integrated at CAPS and be operational in late 2004.