Superconducting electrical machines for zero emission aviation

Electrical machines are electromechanical energy converters between electrical/mechanical energy in both generating and motoring applications. Existing electrical machines rely on copper windings and iron circuits for electro-magnetic coupling, resulting in insufficient machine power density for zero-emission aviation electrification. High temperature superconductors (HTS) offer a ground-breaking and transformative way to develop high power density electrical machines with high efficiency. The zero resistivity of HTS enables ironless magnetic couplings with high electrical and magnetic loadings for a HTS machine. However, power densities of the HTS machines demonstrated to date are at least three times lower than theoretical predictions, due the fundamental challenges in understanding the complex inter-relationship between HTS and rotational electromagnetism. SUPERMAN aims to revolutionise HTS machine technology by providing ground-breaking technologies to develop novel HTS machines with high power density and efficiency, enabling them to replace fossil fuel driven counterparts in zero-emission aviation. By demonstrating an electrical machine to match the power density of gas turbine cores, SUPERMAN will generate an immediate impact in the aviation industry. As a multi-disciplinary research program bringing together material science, physics and engineering, SUPERMAN will open up new research frontiers in applying cutting-edge superconductivity to tackle clean energy conversion challenges.