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The country has never been short of innovative scientists who have contributed significantly to the progress of world’s energy activities and now added to that list is a pair helping to revolutionise the way we use and distribute energy.
The pair this year were jointly awarded the inaugural Prime Minister’s Science Prize with a purse of $500,000, of which $400,000 will go to IRL for the continued development of HTS technology. The work Buckley and Tallon has resulted in the formation of HTS-110, which develops powerful HTS magnets for industrial applications and general cable superconductors (GCS) through a joint venture between IRL and General Cable that develops HTS winding cable for customers around the globe. Superconductivity is a phenomenon whereby some materials, when cooled, conduct electricity with no resistance or energy loss during the transmission process. Far more efficient at transmitting energy than copper, superconducting materials have long been considered to have the potential to revolutionise the way we use and distribute energy. Since their discovery around 100 years ago, the barrier to using superconductors in industrial applications has been the very cold temperatures required and the associated cost of producing such temperatures. Traditional low temperature superconductors only become operational at the temperature of liquid helium (-269 Celsius) and the associated costs are prohibitive for industrial use. In the 1980s Buckley and Tallon discovered a new ceramic compound that began to superconduct at ‘comparatively’ warm temperatures (-163 Celsius) that enabled the use of liquid nitrogen as a coolant. This significantly less expensive method of transmitting electricity with no resistance was an exciting development that made the pages of prestigious international journal, Nature. After patenting their discovery, the pair (in collaboration with a growing team of scientists and engineers at IRL and predecessor organization, DSIR) spent the next 20 years refining their techniques and working on applying this new technology for industrial use. “It is wonderful to be recognised through this new award which I feel acknowledges the world-leading efforts of the entire team, Says Dr Tallon, who is responsible for leading fundamental research into HTS. “Bob and I have had wonderful support over the years in assisting us in our research,” Buckley, who manages the development of the technology for commercial use at IRL, says winning the award is also recognition of the role science is playing in the country’s future economic well-being. “While we are proud of the scientific achievements we have made, the real payoff for New Zealand will be witnessed in the next decade, as HTS technology starts to make an impact in the global market.” GCS chief Andrew Priest and IRL chief Executive Shaun Coffey congratulated the pair. “The challenge is to build on this competency with New Zealand-based, internationally competitive businesses, leading the commercialisation of HTS applications,” says Priest. Coffey iterates that the country’s current level of prosperity is based firmly on a foundation of world-class science and over the coming decades research in fields like HTS will continue to underpin our economic growth.
Energy NZ Vol.4 No.4 July-August 2010 |
New Zealand is at the forefront of the emerging global high temperature superconductivity (HTS) industry through the talented efforts of two Industrial Research Ltd (IRL) scientists – Dr Jeff Tallon and Dr Bob Buckley (pictured).